Long Island Sinatra lovers keep these crooners busy

A photo of Frank Sinatra is projected at one end of a Huntington ballroom, as the familiar lyrics of his signature song ring out from the dance floor. But it was not, of course, the Chairman of the Board crooning “My Way” on a Friday night in mid-December. It was Frank Frizalone.

With the crowd thoroughly enchanted, Frizalone offered a final flourish before launching into his encore, “New York, New York.” The guests at the Kids Helping Kids Gala at Oheka Castle rewarded him with a standing ovation.

“The music is timeless,” said Frizalone, adding that he was surprised by the number of young people who are fans of these songs. “It’s not just baby boomers who love them.”

Old standards — especially songs that Sinatra is known for — call to a number of performers in the region. From senior centers to libraries, from birthday parties to weddings, from lounges to concert stages to Broadway, there is a thriving market for these crooners to perform on Long Island and, on occasion, all over the country and the world.

A singer since his younger years, Frizalone juggled performing with his work in real estate, most recently at Cushman and Wakefield. He calls his show “An Evening With Frank,” but is quick to point out that “I’m not imitating Sinatra. I’m just singing his songs.”

‘THE REAL DEAL’

“He’s the real deal,” said Bob Eslick, who heads the Stamford, Connecticut-based nonprofit Kids Helping Kids and hires Frizalone every year to entertain at his fundraiser. The organization creates volunteer and service projects for kids. “He knows how to read his audiences,” said Eslick, and he “can mix his talented voice with humorous wit to keep the room entertained on numerous levels.”

Frizalone met the singer Connie Francis at the Friars Club in 2012, and she invited him to sing at her 75th birthday party. “That’s when I got the bug to really concentrate on my singing,” said the Bohemia resident, who, like most of the singers interviewed, was reluctant to give his exact age.

Age isn’t an issue for Sal Valentinetti, perhaps Long Island’s best-known crooner. The 29-year-old Bay Shore resident made headlines in 2016 when he placed fifth on the NBC series “America’s Got Talent.” In the years since, he’s traveled the world, performing songs like “My Way,” which earned him Heidi Klum’s Golden Buzzer on “AGT.” “The music doesn’t die, it doesn’t go away,” he said, explaining the continued popularity. “It evolves and is given new life every few years.”

VOICE IN ‘A BRONX TALE’

Malverne singer Jim Altamore worked in finance for many years, but he said pursuing singing “was always in the back of my mind.” He recorded himself singing along with Sinatra, and realized “this doesn’t sound so bad.” He worked with a vocal coach and started performing around 1992, singing mostly Sinatra music “because there was a market for it, and my voice lends itself to Frank’s music.” He’s recorded three albums, which can be found on Spotify and Pandora.

Some friends in the Bronx introduced him to actor Chazz Palminteri, and Altamore ended up singing at a fundraiser at Palminteri’s home. “A few weeks later,” said Altamore, “I got a call from him asking if he could use my voice as Sinatra in his new show.” The answer was obvious, so since 2007 it’s Altamore singing “Fly Me to the Moon” in Palminteri’s autobiographical show “A Bronx Tale.” As Altamore puts it with a wink, “I worked a lot cheaper than Frank. It worked out good for him and worked out fine for me.”

Landing on Broadway isn’t the only way for a singer to make his name known. Tony Della has found fame in the aisles of Uncle Giuseppe’s supermarkets. The Riverhead resident started singing at church dances when he was in his teens, then moved on to bars once he was old enough. Because of family commitments, he said, he turned down opportunities to travel with Glenn Miller and Sammy Kay, instead starting a business that specialized in auto transmission parts.

But he never stopped singing, and in 2006 his agent told him someone was looking for a performer for a grand opening. Surprised when he was told to be there around noon, he found out that the event was for Uncle Giuseppe’s Port Washington store. “One of the owners was there,” he said, and “he liked what he heard, so he booked me at another store the next day.”

Della’s been there ever since, performing mostly Sinatra tunes, though he’ll throw in a Neil Diamond or Michael Bublé on occasion. And he now handles booking other singers to handle the chain’s 11 stores. Della said he loves the gig. Using the store’s sound system, he’s able to wander the aisles, chatting with the shoppers. “Your audience is always different, it changes by the hour,” he said, adding that he’s noticed some shoppers “just keep going around in circles to hear me sing.”

Meeting Sinatra

Inspiration for this line of work comes in many forms, but for Eddie Sessa, having dinner with Sinatra and actor/singer Dean Martin when he was 21 clearly qualifies. The Franklin Square resident bills himself as a Sinatra tribute artist, and said meeting the famed singer and seeing him play the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City set him on his current path — though he remembers not saying a word at dinner (his godfather knew the singer). “I just listened,” he recalled. “But watching them on stage, I dreamed of doing that.”

Now Sessa, who owned restaurants and supper clubs on the Island and in Florida (his last one locally was City Café in Garden City, which he sold in 2002), performs regularly. He’s appeared at clubs all over, including the Rainbow Room in Manhattan, and once headlined a concert at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow that he said drew more than 5,000 people. Describing himself as a late bloomer, Sessa recently created a show about his life, “Frank Sinatra and My Impossible Dream,” which focuses on how he dealt with “a tough childhood growing up in a dysfunctional Italian American family.” He’s preparing marketing materials for the show, and hopes eventually to tour it all over the tristate area.

RAT PACK TRIBUTE GROUP

Not every singer in this genre focuses on Sinatra. Lloyd Diamond, who portrays Sammy Davis Jr. in a Rat Pack tribute group, started out on the comedy circuit. “I did a thing where I imagined Sammy as a rapper,” said Diamond, who splits his time between New York City and Allentown, Pennsylvania. “I wasn’t having fun with stand-up anymore,” he said, so he answered an ad to play Davis as a singer. “I have an advantage, because there aren’t a lot of Sammys out there.”

He studied Davis’ music and his autobiography, “Yes I Can: The Story of Sammy Davis Jr.,” and went to work, performing hits like “The Candy Man” and his personal favorite, “Mr. Bojangles,” which he loves because “it tells a story.” People want to hear this music, said Diamond, because “it brings back memories.” But audiences shouldn’t expect Diamond to sound exactly like Davis. “No one is like him,” said Diamond. “No one can sound like Sammy. There was only one.”

Bobby Damato, of Floral Park, celebrates the music of other Bobbys — think Darin, Rydell, Vinton and the like. Plus, he throws in a little Sinatra, along with Tom Jones and Elvis, in his show, “Music, Love and Memories,” which he performs from assisted living centers to restaurants to weddings.

Damato (known professionally as Bobby D) said he’s been singing since he was 5, eventually juggling performing with his job at Con Edison, where he worked in various capacities for 45 years. Damato especially likes singing at memory café events run by Parker Jewish Institute for patients with cognitive issues and their caregivers. “You’ve got to see the people,” he said. “They may not remember they saw me two months ago, but they remember every word to every song I sing.”

UP AND DANCING

On a recent Friday, Damato headlined a holiday party at the Tanner Park Senior Center in Copiague. The crowd was up and moving, which Damato almost demands. “They dance with walkers, with wheelchairs,” said Nancy Quiney, of Copiague, who chairs the committee that plans the monthly parties. “He does music we can relate to and it’s so soothing.”

The crowd of more than 200 wasn’t just dancing, many were singing along, said Frank McKnight, who manages the sound for Damato (and on occasion sings a couple of songs in Italian). “This is like a Las Vegas act,” said the New Hyde Park resident as he watched Damato roam the audience. “You just don’t get this anymore,” he said. In reality, no one gets more out of it than Damato. “The energy in my body overtakes me,” he said. “I just love it.”

The singers interviewed said they’re not in it for the money, but they are getting paid. Most charge nominal fees to charities and assisted-living centers, earning much more for a private party or wedding. “I could get up to $1,200 for a four-hour party,” said Damato. But that’s not his priority. “I get so much joy from this,” he said. “That’s what keeps me going. That’s what keeps me alive.”

Ditto for Frizalone.

“I make a good amount of money,” said Frizalone, but “I’m not doing it for the money. I do it because I love it.” Looking ahead, he said, “When people are tired of listening to me, I won’t do it anymore.”