{"id":216844,"date":"2021-12-13T16:01:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-13T21:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/?p=216844"},"modified":"2021-12-13T16:01:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-13T21:01:35","slug":"swinging-with-tina-sinatra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/newscenter\/2021\/12\/13\/swinging-with-tina-sinatra\/","title":{"rendered":"Swinging with Tina Sinatra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tina Sinatra took a spin around campus on Saturday, December 11, visiting the residence hall that bears her father\u2019s name and the campus radio station, where a student disc jockey keeps the legacy of Frank Sinatra alive with a show devoted to the American songbook. <\/p>\n

The stop at Montclair was part of a weekend celebration of the 106th anniversary of the singer\u2019s birth on December 12, 1915, including the unveiling of a sculpture by Carolyn D. Palmer in Sinatra\u2019s hometown of Hoboken. The bronze statue is among the many tributes in Sinatra\u2019s home state, where the singer, actor and music icon is one of New Jersey\u2019s best known celebrities. <\/p>\n

A special broadcast of signature Sinatra songs played on WMSC 90.3 FM during Tina Sinatra\u2019s visit to Montclair. \u201cHe resonates with people,\u201d says Zach Taglioli, a senior majoring in Communication and Media Arts and Sinatra superfan who was spinning the records. \u201cHis music is timeless. That\u2019s why we’re still talking about him till this day.\u201d <\/p>\n

Back in 2010, Montclair students voted to honor Sinatra by naming new housing Francis A. Sinatra Hall. The University\u2019s residence halls are traditionally named for famous New Jerseyans \u2013 notables like Count Basie, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton and Althea Gibson, among others. In the six-story Sinatra suite residence on Clove Road, vintage photographs and history of his roots, legacy, philanthropy and politics, adorn the lobby. \u201cEverywhere you turn, you see him,\u201d Tina Sinatra said. \u201cHe would get a kick out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo
Tina Sinatra reads about her father, the legendary entertainer Frank Sinatra, in the lobby of the Montclair residence hall named in his honor with University President Jonathan Koppell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As students showed her around, Tina Sinatra looked closely, remarking, \u201cI love all the touches. It\u2019s really homey.\u201d Her genuine remarks touched the College of the Arts students \u2013 Kwadjo Bekoe, junior, Fashion Studies; Tommy Foster, junior, Television and Digital Media; Robyn Platz, sophomore, Public Relations; and Lauren Wright, senior, Music Education. \u201cI was really nervous, but she’s so personable and kind, and she had such lovely things to say about our home here,\u201d Platz said.<\/p>\n

Tina Sinatra is a businesswoman, film producer, entrepreneur and author who manages the Sinatra business. \u201cWe work closely when we can with universities and colleges because we think that he is to be perpetuated, has to be the center of things. So I love that we have a dormitory here at Montclair. I love that there is a connection to the music department. Your college is very impressive,\u201d she said during the radio broadcast. <\/p>\n

\"Zach
Tina Sinatra shares memories about her famous father on WMSC 90.3 FM.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHow do you think your father would feel knowing how much he means to our American identity?\u201d Taglioli asked during the \u201cStandards and Stories\u201d live segment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he would be surprised, but humbled,\u201d Tina Sinatra said. \u201cIt\u2019s a conversation you kind of have toward the end of someone\u2019s life and he was hopeful.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Taglioli, meeting Tina Sinatra was an opportunity he won\u2019t soon forget. He grew up in a small South Jersey town outside of Philadelphia, and like so many families, Sinatra provided the soundtrack to their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunday dinner was something from the Goodfellows \u2013 pasta stirring and Sinatra playing. I found that I connected to the music, and on top of that, it kept me out of trouble,\u201d Taglioli shared as he prepared for the interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen other kids were out playing, I was inside listening to Sinatra music, watching his movies and documentaries, reading the books.\u201d Taglioli\u2019s deep appreciation led to the radio show and his own performances singing the music in local restaurants, festivals and theaters.<\/p>\n

\"Zach
Zach Taglioli, a senior majoring in Communication and Media Arts, interviews Tina Sinatra during a special broadcast of \u201cStandards and Stories.\u201d He was introduced to the music by his great-grandmother.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taglioli\u2019s favorite song? The Sinatra classic, \u201cThat\u2019s Life.\u201d \u201cIt evokes a positive message, and it’s a song that I love. Actually, it won me my first flat screen television [at a Montclair talent show] and it also got me a girl’s number, though I’m still waiting for her to call.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he planned for the interview, Taglioli focused his questions on what Sinatra was like behind the scenes as a father and grandfather. \u201cI know Sinatra was a great collector of trains during the Christmas season, so I\u2019m interested in learning more about the little facts that people may not know,\u201d he said. Among the tidbits gleaned, Sinatra\u2019s favorite pies: pumpkin and Boston cream.<\/p>\n

The conversation with Tina Sinatra included family memories and the Hoboken honor, ending with advice for the new generation of Sinatra lovers like Taglioli trying to keep the great American songbook alive. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing to a young singer is to find their own interpretation,\u201d Tina Sinatra said. \u201cThat’s what he did. He only sang what he could identify with \u2026 If he couldn’t experience it in himself within his soul, he just didn’t sing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to conquer, you have to make the music yours.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Tina
Tina Sinatra greets Sinatra scholarship recipient Nathan Angelo, a sophomore BFA Musical Theatre major.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a nod to Montclair in her closing remarks at the Hoboken tribute, Tina Sinatra ended with a memory of her father as a boy listening to the radio at night to lull himself to sleep. \u201cHe began to focus on boat whistles, train whistles, snowflakes. And he began to dream about where they were going,\u201d she said. Frank Sinatra believed that \u201cdreaming about where you want to go is the most possible way to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tina Sinatra continued, \u201cWe were at Montclair State yesterday. We were surrounded by youth and some wonderful personnel. It was a great, great experience. They all have dreams, those kids. We are all not of that age anymore, so we have to remember what they were and aspire to them to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Group
In Sinatra Hall, Tina Sinatra, center, poses for a group photo. From left, Charles Pignone of Sinatra Enterprises; Montclair Assistant Vice President of Development David Graham; Kwadjo Bekoe; University President Jonathan Koppell; Lauren Wright; Tina Sinatra, Tommy Foster, Robin Platz; Robert Finkelstein of the Sinatra Foundation; and College of the Arts Dean Dan Gurskis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren<\/a>. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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