In 2022, Creed guitarist Mark Tremonti released “Tremonti Sings Sinatra,” an album featuring a collection of Frank Sinatra covers recorded with former members of Sinatra’s band. The LP was put out by a charity initiative created by Tremonti called Take A Chance For Charity, with all proceeds from the record going to the National Down Syndrome Society.
As an organization that seeks to help individuals with Down syndrome and their families, NDSS is a charity that is close to Tremonti’s heart. In March of 2021, he and his wife welcomed their first daughter, Stella, who was born with Down syndrome.
Now, while speaking with YouTuber Rick Beato in a new interview, Tremonti talked a bit about his Sinatra cover album and revealed that it gained the support of some of the biggest names in rock.
“It’s one of the things I’m most proud of in my entire career,” Tremonti admitted. “It’s been the most gratifying, satisfying thing. I always tell people, I could have recorded a thousand rock records before some of the people that heard this and commented on it would have ever taken notice. I remember Slash [of Guns N’ Roses] gave us a great quote. He loved it. And Paul Stanley from KISS was online talking about it.
“And I remember one day I was on tour in Europe. And I had a bad day. I forget what it was. I was just kind of in a rotten mood. And I get off stage and I pick up my phone, and it’s my buddy Tom Robb. And he’s security for Robert Plant [of Led Zeppelin] and Metallica. He’s just an awesome guy, a good friend of mine. He’s, like, ‘I gotta tell you, I was taking Robert [Plant] to Bonnaroo, and I played him your Frank Sinatra CD, and he loved it.’ I’m, like, ‘What? Robert Plant listened to my Sinatra thing?’ And, of course, I’m trying to promote it, so I’m like, ‘Could you get a quote for me?’ I never got the quote, but just to know that Robert Plant listened to it and enjoyed it… When would that have happened with anything I’ve ever done?”
On how he came up for the idea of “Tremonti Sings Sinatra,” the guitarist explained:
“I was just practicing singing like Frank Sinatra ’cause I loved it, just like a young guitar player would. It would be like me practicing jazz and knowing that I’m never gonna write a jazz song. But when we got the diagnosis that my daughter was gonna be born with Down syndrome, I’m like, ‘I wanna do this record and do it for charity.’ So I called my manager, Tim, and I said, ‘Let’s call some local musicians and put a band together.’ He’s, like, ‘How about we do something better? My guitar teacher was Frank Sinatra’s guitar player on tour.’ So he set up a meeting with Dan McIntyre, his guitar player, and Mike Smith, Frank Sinatra’s alto sax player and one of his band leaders. And they had lunch, and he told ’em what I wanted to do. [And they said], ‘Well, can your boy sing?’ And Tim had never heard me sing Frank Sinatra. So I’m, like, in my bathroom singing [‘Luck Be A Lady’]. And I sent him a clip of it, and they set up a studio session.
“We were just gonna do two songs to see how it worked out. And one of the most difficult things was really convincing the Sinatra family and the business to let us do this. And when they heard it, they liked it. And they said pretty much, ‘You have to do your own arrangements, though. We just don’t want the old arrangements.’ It’s like you’re going to drink a Coke, but it’s not a Coke, kind of a thing. So we took ‘My Way’ and changed it. We took ‘I Fall In Love Too Easily’ and added a rhythm section. And we took half the record and changed it.”
He continued: “It’s crazy when you’re in the studio with these guys. Imagine a room about this big and you have 17 brass instruments in there. And when I’m first meeting these guys, Mike calls me in, and I chose the song that the vocals set the rhythm for the song. All the other songs you can start with the music, but ‘Luck Be A Lady’ starts with the vocal. ‘They call you lady luck, but there is room for doubt.’ So I set the pace. So I’m in there having to do that, first meeting these folks. But I had fun. I loved it.”
