The Great American Songbook Countdown – #9: I Concentrate On You & #8: Baubles, Bangles And Beads

In 2001, my not-quite-my-girlfriend-not-yet-my-wife let me borrow disc three of Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Collection. The disc, covering recordings from 1966-69, included songs from Sinatra’s sessions with Brazilian bossa nova great Antônio Carlos Jobim.

I was already a Jobim fan, yet somehow I had overlooked these recordings. After learning of these sessions, I scoured Napster (back before RIAA started cracking down) and downloaded all of the Sinatra/Jobim recordings. Of those tracks, the Cole Porter-penned “I Concentrate On You” and “Baubles, Bangles And Beads” (written by George Forrest and Robert Wright) are my favorites from the American Songbook (Full disclosure: “Wave” is my favorite recording from the sessions, however, that won’t count in this list since it isn’t part of the GAS). ¹

1. And for added kicks, check out this Jobim and Sinatra video from ’67. You just don’t get cats smoking cigarettes and wearing tuxedos anymore.