Blue Eyes bites back: why did Frank Sinatra throw a tray of drinks at Buddy Rich?
Frank Sinatra isn’t known for his temper, but it was there nonetheless, bubbling under the surface. In the popular imagination, Old Blue Eyes was docile, charming and fun-loving. He was the affable husband in Guys & Dolls and the fantasy of housewives all over America. He was also fond of slugging journalists outside New York nightclubs and getting into scraps with bandmates like Buddy Rich, with whom Sinatra indulged in several altercations over the years.
Like so many ambitious young Italo-American men of his generation, Frank Sinatra had his eyes set firmly on the moon. Like Perry Commo, Vic Damone and Frankie Laine, Frank grew up in a world where young men really could change their fortunes by singing a well-written song bel canto. He wanted his name in lights and worked hard to make it happen. Even though he was singing all night at the Rustic Cabin roadhouse, he was also rising early in the morning to sing for nothing on New York Radio. For Frank, there was no such thing as too much publicity.
Eventually, Sinatra landed a job singing with Harry James’s big band. The trumpeter and bandleader heard Sinatra singing on the radio and decided to sign him for a two-year stint at $75 a week. Frank grew very attached to Henry and the boys but soon recieved an offer from another bandleader, Tommy Dorsey, who then led the country’s most prominent big band. At $125 a week, Sinatra couldn’t refuse. Still, he felt depressed at the thought of having to leave James’s band. His final night with them was so moving that he was able to recount it in perfect detail over 20 years later. “The bus pulled out with the rest of the boys at about half-past midnight,” he said via The Frank Sinatra Reader. “I said goodbye to them all, and it was snowing, I remember. There was nobody around and I stood alone with by suitcase in the snow and watched the taillights disappear. Then the tears started and I tried to run after the bus”.
Leaving the warmth of Henry James’s band was an important step for Sinatra. It introduced him to some very talented musicians, for one thing, including Buddy Rich, who, like Sinatra, was prone to explosive fits of rage. During his time in the army, he’d taken almost as many swings at his officers as the enemy. After returning to Dorsey’s band after the war, he and Sinatra became roommates, meaning their patience with one another was probably already wearing thin by the time they got to their nightly concerts. At one notable rehearsal, Sinatra threw a plate of drinks at Rich when he played the drums too loud. At a later live concert, Frank – a smaller man than Rich – reportedly lay into Buddy as if he were a punching bag.
Rich and Sinatra may well have been the bitter rivals some argued they were. It would make sense. During their time in Dorsey’s band, they were both considered stars of the show, and professional jealousy can be a dangerous thing. What’s more likely, however, is that they were the kind of friends who sparred on occasion but basically respected each other. They were roommates on the road, let’s not forget, and Sinatra continued performing with Buddy Rich well into his 60s. Their violent personalities are well documented. Sinatra also once allegedly paid a waiter $50 to punch an intrusive photographer outside a restaurant and reportedly even ordered his bodyguard to go to his wife’s hotel room and throw a plate of spare ribs at her face following an argument. Clearly, there’s more than one reason Marlene Deitrich called Sinatra “the Mercedes Benz of men”.
