Frank Sinatra Duets (1993)

Catalog Number(s):

Sinatra Duets

The CD was packaged with a black fabric slipcover (below)

Duets with slipcover Buy from Amazon

Tracks

  1. Lady Is a Tramp - (with Luther Vandross)
  2. What Now My Love - (with Aretha Franklin)
  3. I've Got a Crush on You - (with Barbra Streisand)
  4. Summer Wind - (with Julio Iglesias)
  5. Come Rain or Come Shine - (with Gloria Estefan)
  6. New York, New York - (with Tony Bennett)
  7. They Can't Take That Away From Me - (with Natalie Cole)
  8. You Make Me Feel So Young - (with Charles Aznavour)
  9. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry / In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning - (with Carly Simon)
  10. I've Got the World on a String - (with Liza Minnelli)
  11. Witchcraft - (with Anita Baker)
  12. I've Got You Under My Skin - (with Bono)
  13. All The Way / One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) - (with Kenny G)

About “I've Got A Crush On You”

Sinatra and Streisand in dressing room

(Photo, above): Sinatra was photographed backstage visiting Streisand in her dressing room during the run of Funny Girl on Broadway, circa 1964.

Frank Sinatra's 1993 Duets album was newsworthy because of producer Phil Ramone's technical savvy. Ramone relied on a fiber optics system called EDNet to record tracks in “real time” from different locations. In many cases, Sinatra and his duet partners recorded their vocals separately.

Phil Ramone, who I interviewed in 2005, told Barbra Archives, “Barbra knows that I’m crazy about technology. It’s a way of life for me. When I was involved in doing [the Sinatra Duets album], Marty [Erlichman] said to me, ‘Please don’t tell her you’re experimenting with this – doing your vocals from home.’ (Laughs).”

Streisand reportedly recorded her vocals to “I've Got A Crush On You” on August 17, 1993 at Todd-AO, Hollywood.

Ramone recalled, “We did a whole new intro for her before Sinatra comes in. David Foster and I had fun with that, and a lot of laughs.”

Streisand created an intimacy for the recording when she went back and overdubbed the line, “You make me blush, Francis.”

Al Schmitt, who recorded and mixed the album, revealed that Sinatra's line, “I have got a crush, my Barbra, on you…” was recorded backstage during one of Frank's concerts. “Hank [Cattaneo] just had Frank sing into a DAT machine, and we cut it in during the mixing.”

“I've Got A Crush On You” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.

Streisand sang the song live to a black-and-white video clip of Sinatra for her Timeless concert (1999-2000). She also included the Sinatra duet on her 2002 album, Duets.

Sinatra and Streisand during TIMELESS concert

“Yeah, he was really something,” Barbra said about Sinatra.

End.

[ top of page ]