In what seems at first glance to be a HUGE stretch, St. Petersburg Times music writer Sean Daly makes a case that Memphis homeboy JT and Frank Sinatra are a lot alike. A sample: “It all starts with those peepers, of course, sometimes flirty, sometimes intense, but always aware, of the cameras, of the crowds, of the cool. Frank Sinatra and Justin Timberlake, Ol’ Blue Eyes and New Blue Eyes, singin’ joes with the world on a ring-a-ding string.
“Then there’s this: Frank and JT both started in cheeky boy bands the Hoboken Four, ‘N Sync and silly variety shows (Major Bowes, The Mickey Mouse Club). Sooner, rather than later, these scrawny, winter-born white boys from humble origins went solo, relying on African-American maestros – Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Pharrell, Timbaland – to inject crossover soul into their sound.
“And don’t forget: They both famously hooked up with femmes fatales -Ava Gardner, Britney Spears – and used well-publicized breakups (whether they were the dumper or the dumpee) to make their best music: ‘In the Wee Small Hours,’ ‘Cry Me a River.'”
We have to respectfully disagree, though they both have/had a fondness for cute little fedoras. Read more if you dare.
