12. Frank Sinatra
Whenever I’m on tour, about a quarter of an hour before I’m due on stage, I sing this song. Because a great song will take any treatment – and it’s another travelogue – and Sinatra gives it every treatment. In that two and a half minutes, he goes from operatic to swinging, and all points in between. So it’s a great one for opening up the throat. I know I don’t sing for a living – not all the time anyway – but in order to open my throat, I go through the scales and that’s the one that puts your voice through them all. It starts off quite braggadocio and goes operatic, then pretty soon he’s snapping his fingers, but he nails his intent to the wall right at the beginning. It opens up my airwaves on a nightly basis during a touring situation.
