FRIDAYS ARE FOR FRANK: “Mrs. Robinson” — Paul Simon Engagement Tribute

“So how’s your bird, Mrs. Robinson?”

If you missed last night’s Paul Simon Engagement, you missed some absolutely amazing stuff…

Watching the sun set along the Hoboken Waterfront, the hundreds of concertgoers in attendance at Sinatra Park were simply dazzled by the stellar lineup of powerhouse musicians who clearly poured their souls into that performance.

“We have a large crew of musicians now, that can be dedicated to certain areas of expertise,” said ALEO Music‘s Jaime DeJesus. “As a music community, we have found a really nice balance of self expression and selflessness in support for the musicians we are playing with.”

It was fabulous evening, and a phenomenal tribute to Paul Simon—a titan of songwriting who has worked tirelessly his entire career to avoid being pigeonholed into any one genre.

Frank Sinatra was another adaptable performer who transcended any labels… but there were clearly a few cases where the adage, “just because you CAN doesn’t men you SHOULD” comes into play.

Which brings us to Frank’s infamous cover of the Simon & Garfunkel classic, “Mrs. Robinson.”

For his 1969 album My Way, Sinatra changed a number of lines—replacing “Jesus” with “Jilly” and including a new verse directly referring to Mrs. Robinson’s activities in The Graduate.

Simon has reportedly shared the story that he was not asked ahead of time to permit changes to the lyrics, and called Sinatra’s record company to say he didn’t want the song released. According to Simon, the person he talked to begged him not to push the issue, since it was that person’s responsibility to get the clearance and he would lose his job. So Simon didn’t pursue the matter, as he was a fan of Frank.

They would meet years later, but never actually discuss the cover version… which is probably for the best. It’s a head-scratcher of a performance, and arguably one of the quirkiest moves of Sinatra’s career.

But hey, it’s Frank.

“Jilly loves you more than you will know…”