Posted on: Sunday, October 28, 2001
Ex-Marine sings Sinatra in homage to the legend
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor
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| Randy Smith, father, grandfather and Sinatra buff, launches a new career as an entertainer. Smith hopes to appeal to an older crowd.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser . . . . 'An Evening with the Music of Sinatra' • Featuring Randy Smith, with Chris Washington, Debra Canada and Joni Albao appearing in duet segments |
In a bold move against the tide, an unknown amateur singer who specializes in adult-oriented Frank Sinatra songs is primed to try to make his mark in the Waikiki mainstream.
Randy Smith, 52, a father of three and grandfather of three, is an ex-Marine who is keeping his day job as a manager of a diving shop. But with Waikiki still reeling from the events of Sept. 11, he's eager to sing, and will, when he stars in "An Evening with the Music of Sinatra," premiering at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, at the Esprit nightclub at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
"It's not the best time to launch a career," said Smith, who made it quite clear that his will be an homage show, not an impersonation act. "It's been such a tough go in Waikiki since Sept. 11. But we think we have something different that has appeal to an older crowd. And though I'm an ex-Marine, I'm too old to serve. So I have to do what I can right here, in these difficult times."
Pearl Harbor debut
Smith had a glitzy show debut when he did a few Sinatra tunes in the Jack Cione-produced and directed "Mardi Gras Follies" at Pearl Harbor earlier this year.
"I thought he was remarkable and as I watched the audience, they were taken by his voice," said Cione, who is coming out of retirement to rekindle his Waikiki wand. Cione has concocted a "book" show, compiling 28 musical numbers that span 50 years of Ol' Blue Eyes' career, with tidy little chapters and scenes dubbed "The Early Years," "The Saloon Years," "The Rat Pack" and so on.
"Sinatra really is big right now," said Yemun Chung, an entertainment impresario, who has worked with a diverse roster of acts, from The Krush to The Local Divas. Chung is helping Cione to promote the show and cites such productions as "Our Sinatra" off-Broadway in New York, "Ol' Blue Eyes" and "The Rat Pack" in Las Vegas and "Ol' Blue Eyes" in Atlantic City heralding a surge of renewed interest in Sinatra.
They all feel that the prevailing emotional uneasiness needs a tonic like the grand ol' ballads that Sinatra used to deliver with sass and finesse.
"I'm like everybody else my age — I love his work," said Smith, who has a head of silvery white hair. "There is only one Sinatra in my book, and he's gone now. But he left us 60 movies, 100 albums and 2,000 songs. And we'll do some of his music."
Smith has audience-tested his soothing style in karaoke spots such as "Al Waterson and You" at Fisherman's Wharf, at the "Let's Dance" big band affairs at the Royal Hawaiian's Monarch Room, at Del Courtney's recent band blasts at the Blue Tropix.
"I first heard him at Fisherman's Wharf, and I asked him to sing in 'Mardi Gras,'" said Cione "He said, 'What's a 'Mardi Gras?' After 'Mardi Gras,' I told Randy that we would put him on stage. He just laughed."
But it's no joke. Smith is now ready to share patter, stories and the songbag of Sinatra — with caution accompanying the anticipation.
"I'm not giving up my day job," he said of his manager's post at the Aloha Dive Shop in Hawai'i Kai. "I still have kids to feed."
Do-or-die time
Because he's a late bloomer in the show spectrum, Smith said it's now a do-or-die reality. "I'm not getting any younger, and I'm ready to try to give it a shot, even if some people think we're crazy, launching a new show when everybody's shutting down."
Smith also is a seasoned diver, an instructor and a former boat captain. "Perhaps diving skills help — with the breathing," he laughed. "But I haven't really been singing that long to know for sure. Just about three years."
He served with the Marines in Vietnam for two years, starting in 1968, and was in the reserves in Illinois before settling in Honolulu. Smith has always been a closet singer, and his father advised him to avoid show business at all costs.
"But he did come and see me in 'Mardi Gras,'" said Smith. "And he had a good time."
