I thought this was really interesting, but (from his Wiki page) here's apparently what he thought when early rock first emerged:

Through the late 50s, Sinatra frequently criticized rock and roll music, much of it being his reaction to rhythms and attitudes he found alien. In 1958 he lambasted it as "sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons. It manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth."

Yet...in the late 60s or early 70s he covered The Beatles' Something and called it "The greatest love song ever written."

Initially this sounds weird, but it actually makes some sense when you think about it. When he was like 40 years old, this brand new loud, uptempo and rowdy form of music came along and started making his crooner style seem out of touch...so I can kinda understand him resenting it.

Yet, as time passed, he probably got more used to it, and a mellower song like Something probably actually felt closer to the kind of music he grew up with or performed when he was a young man...albeit just with (for its time) modern instrumentation.

I think we get more selective about what we like when we get older, but that doesn't mean we totally stop liking everything recorded after we reach age 25, 30 or 40 or whatever. We might resent the first kind of music that replaces what we grew up with, but later on I think its not uncommon to like the mellower modern music well into adulthood.

Also, I think that the early work of the Beatles was often more restrained and calm than a lot of the rock 'n' roll of the 50's.

Dean Martin was also notoriously hostile to rock and roll in the 1960's.

The Rolling Stones made their first US television appearance in 1964 on Hollywood Palace, an ABC variety show that had a different guest host every week. Dean Martin was the guest host on the episode which the Stones made their debut, and he introduced them in a snide and condescending manner that made them appear to be a novelty act. When they played, the Stones seemed rather nervous and stiff, and after they finished Deano continued to ridicule and mock them after they left the stage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqYEkYpX-uY

The Stones went on their first US tour during this time and they tanked. They did not conquer America like the Beatles had earlier that year, and their shows sold poorly. They blamed it partly on this television appearance, but the simple truth was that they just weren't quite ready yet. (Not to mention that they did not yet have a hit single in America which would have given them a bit of traction to start out with.)

They returned to England, humbled, but they regrouped and used this experience to fuel their determination and hone their craft, and they returned to America the following year with a vengeance and they kicked ass. The rest is history.

As for Dean Martin, you were one of the coolest cats ever and I've grown to be a huge fan of yours, but you were a real dick that night.  :P

Good ol' Blue Eyes - finger on the pulse, as usual! (There was at least one time where he attributed the song to Lennon and Macca...er, not quite!)

I think it was just his way of trying to keep up with modern times - he was on the verge of 'retirement', which lasted all of four years, so I guess when you've got what could reasonably be your last work to promote, you want to get as many people on your side as possible...

Legendary singer though he was, he'd have been well-advised to avoid this sort of stuff - same goes for his take on 'Mrs Robinson'...bleh!

Frank was bellyaching even BEFORE RnR hit big-time - the main reason he quit Columbia in the early 50s (quite apart from dwindling record sales and fan base) was his absolute reluctance to record anything that Mitch Miller (another RnR hater) would pitch at him. This almost directly led to Guy Mitchell (the eventual replacement singer) being made a star overnight...

...are FS's views on The Beatles the same for he covered "All My Loving" (which is more rock than ballad?), "Any Time At All", "Hey Jude", and "Yesterday" too.

...are FS's views on The Beatles the same for he covered "All My Loving" (which is more rock than ballad?), "Any Time At All", "Hey Jude", and "Yesterday" too.


He may have gotten away with 'Yesterday', but I'd certainly avoid the rest. Uptempo numbers of any description (if they weren't in his trademark 'swinging' style) made him sound way outside of his comfort zone...

Apparently Jerry Lewis was down with the Beatles back in the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRAlIcSsso

Apparently Jerry Lewis was down with the Beatles back in the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRAlIcSsso


That was great.