What good is a fantasy about the swingin’ recreational life in Palm Springs if you haven’t got a soundtrack to back it? In a mid-century modern lifestyle the Chairman of the Board (isn’t that a great pic?) has to play a major role, dontcha think? So gather up your friends, make yourself comfortable with a martini, a mai tai, or a highball, and let FS set the mood:

10. My Kind of Town (1964) – Back in the late ’70s when Macs Two Lounge in North Billerica, MA used to be a regular bar/lounge, this song was on the jukebox next to the likes of Heart, Bob Seger, and Steve Miller, and my brother Mark and I would get a kick out of playing this song just to get the crowd wondering who on God’s green earth put that damned song on. It sounded good then, still does now.

9. Come Dance With Me (1959) – A swaggering Sinatra performance backed by a kick-ass Billy May arrangement. I think Billy always brought that extra bit of swagger out in Frank.

8. Fly Me To The Moon (1964) – Sinatra singin’. Accompanied by Count Basie. Arranged by Quincy Jones. With a trio like that how can you not get a swingin’ performance?

7. Nice and Easy (1960) – Is there a song that fits the carefree Palm Springs lifestyle better than this? A Nelson Riddle arrangement, very classy. If Billy May brought out Sinatra’s swagger and Gordon Jenkins Frank’s melancholy, Riddle brought out the classic Sinatra sound. All did the Chairman right in their own unique way.

6. I’ve Got You Under My Skin (1956) – Probably the best performance of Frank’s career, and in my humble view one of the top five pop music recordings of all time. A real kick-ass Nelson Riddle arrangement that he absolutely rolls with and kills. Listen for how Riddle uses the strings to build a tension that is only released by that cat blowin’ the trombone and tearing the house down. I put it at #6 on this list because I wouldn’t want my party to stop while everyone listens with their mouths open in amazement. You don’t want to break the mood, right?

5. Witchcraft (1957) – I mean, how does this song not make you think of swinging parties on the patio? This spell-binding, finger-snapping Sinatra performance conjures up three words: taste, class, and appreciation.

4. Summer Wind (1966) – Dig the organ and saxophone (tenor, alto, baritone) opening – it’s really inventive. Whenever I hear this song I’m camping with Jim Connell and a bunch of drunks up at the Saco River – I think they played this song a hundred times. But it’s still a classic sixties tune that just smacks of “nice and easy” Palm Springs afternoons.

3. Strangers In The Night (1966) – Lots of people don’t know it, but many of the musicians backing Frank on this tune come from the same bunch of “Wrecking Crew” musicians utilized by Phil Spector and so many other artists on more ’60s hits then you could ever imagine.

2. Come Fly With Me (1958) – I mean, how much more swingin’ can you get if you were a Pal Springs jet-setter back in the late fifties / early sixties? What a great Billy May arrangement! Whenever I hear this tune I think back to the shows the Masonic Lodge I belong to put on back in the 80s. It was my brother Dave who got me and my friend Paul during the words “beat the birds” to make an arm motion like we were, well, beating birds. To this day it just comes naturally to me.

1. That’s Life (1966) – That rockin’ organ intro is the perfect backdrop for this ultimate swingin’ sixties tune perfect for the highball generation. This ballsy Ernie Freeman arrangement brings Frank as close to letting loose as he’d ever get.