Mixtape: The Unsung by Anayat Fakhraie
Spotlight on the world’s cult crooners, lost lounge acts, and forgotten voices.
August is for Anayat! This month’s mix comes from Anayat Fakhraie. Anayat is an exceptionally talented writer, thinker, and organizer of ideas. He is the unelected Mayor of Hollywood, his hair is breathtaking, and he is the most singular individual I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Anayat has remarkably interesting and unpredictable taste. When you think he’s going to zig, he zags. When you think he’s going to zag, he zogs. This is especially true when it comes to music. Though in a sense, this mixtape—which is a spotlight on the world’s lesser known crooners—is no surprise at all. Anayat’s writing has a very musical, emotional, and universal quality that is reflected in this mix. The Unsung proves that Anayat is not just a talented organizer of ideas, but also of songs.
Listen to The Unsung and read our discussion below.
Listen → The Unsung by Anayat Fakhraie
Tracklist:
Mary In The Morning - Al Martino
Happy Heart - Andy Williams
Elusive Butterfly - Val Doonican
上を向いて歩こう (“I Look Up When I Walk”) - Kyu Sakamoto
My Cup Runneth Over - Ed Ames
I Can See Clearly Now - Lee Towers
Sealed with a Kiss - Bobby Vinton
Al Di La - Jerry Vale
Do I Love You - Peter Lemongello
And I Love You So - Perry Como
Honey - Bobby Goldsboro
A Little Love and Understanding - Gilbert Becaud
Never, Never, Never (Grande, Grande, Grande) - Shirley Bassey
Release Me - Engelbert Humperdinck
I Won’t Send Roses - Robert Goulet
Yesterday When I Was Young - Roy Clark
The Dark End of the Street - James Carr
Mr. Bojangles - Sammy Davis, Jr.
New World In the Morning - Roger Whittaker
GREEN BANANAS: Walk us through your mixtape!
ANAYAT: This mix is top shelf grandad. It's smooth, complex and best enjoyed while wearing a smoking jacket or rolling dice. But I'm not going to “sell” you on it. If you're content with Michael Bublé recycling yesteryear's songs as his own, then pour yourself another cup of boxed wine and enjoy Frozen 2 while the rest of us fix our hearts on our sleeve and prepare for a night out.
I’m not trying to white knight Mr. Bublé right off the bat here, but almost every song on this mix was originally recorded by someone else. Isn’t that the beauty of the crooner? Every song is fair game—it’s just all about the performance.
It is. And he’s a great singer. But his “signature style”—to me—feels Disney-fied. He’s a brand. He sells carbonated water. These older crooners weren’t all heart throbs. Some were oddballs, their livers black and blue from one two many hard nights and they weren’t making the kind of money top-tier singers make today. You can hear the genuine heartache, the struggle in their voice. For me, Bublé is a great brand to set a “swinging mood” at a corporate retreat. He’s popular. He sings the hits. And that’s great. He’s a stadium performer. But, for my money, the guy singing at the end of the bar at the end of the night at the end of his rope is the one really pouring his heart out.
Now that is some imagery. Let’s write this song. We can call it “Pour Me A Whiskey (And I’ll Pour My Heart Out)”. You in?
Great title! We can get Paul Anka to sing it.
When would you listen to this mix? What are you up to when you reach for this playlist?
Either when I'm feeling romantic, or nostalgic or introspective. Sometimes, when I'm just driving home from work, I put it on because Andy Williams and Roger Whittaker make me feel calm. Steady. Like there's so much more to focus on.
I get that. When “New World In the Morning” starts I feel like I’ve been lifted off my feet, like I’m being bear hugged by Roger Whittaker’s voice.
Roger Whittaker is one of my favorite unsung crooners. His Christmas albums are where his real career heat is. That warm bear-hug-of-a-voice singing Christmas songs… It’s almost enough to make you believe in the magic of the season, IMHO.
What was the first song you added to this mix?
“I Won't Send Roses” by Robert Goulet. He's one of my favorite crooners. Sure, he's an easy punchline on SNL. As was Kenny Rogers in the MadTV days. However, both men—but especially Goulet—have a catalog of songs that are quite simply hit after hit after hit. If there were official stats held on his songs, Goulet would have a batting average of .600. Which, if you know anything about baseball, is pretty phenomenal.
As someone who does know something about baseball, that batting average is unheard of—especially for someone who had so many at-bats.1 But I think you’re right, most people who are familiar with Goulet know him as a punchline. That said, there is something funny about some of these guys. Do you have any insight into what that is? My thinking is that it stems from the absolute sincerity in their vocal performances.
100% the sincerity. That’s everything for a crooner. These guys live or die by their ability to connect one thousand miles away to someone else’s plight. I think the jokes are mostly focused on the style of music. Like how it’s easy to take a shot at Disco or Country. Sometimes it’s “cool” to shit on the sincerity. That’s classic teenager. But it doesn’t change the fact that those genres of music are still phenomenal. And they’ll be there for people to find when they’re ready.
What is a “crooner” to you? I think when people hear that word, they think ballads and romantic serenades—and there certainly seems to be an inherent romance to these vocal performances—but the genre is also much bigger than that. And this mix does a great job of displaying the breadth of the croon.
You said it yourself— sincerity. Sincerity of experience, of self, of personal failures, of hope. To me, that’s everything.
What is your favorite moment on this mixtape? Not your favorite moment in a song on this mixtape, but your favorite moment on the mixtape.
The blend of French, Japanese, South African, German and, of course, Italian-American crooners. BUT you won't find any Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin. Or even Tony Bennett (whom I love). This is for the forgotten. The crooners who were either just as prolific or just as talented but—for whatever reason—remain the unsung troubadours of their genre.
As an Italian-American, I have a soft spot for Italian-American music and Italian music. So I wanted to compliment you for including Shirley Bassey’s cover of “Grande Grande Grande,” which was originally performed by Italy’s own Mina.
Hot take—I prefer Shirley Bassey’s version. It’s just so windswept with lovesick hope and passion.
Does Sammy Davis, Jr. really fall into the “forgotten” bucket? He is certainly a known entity. Is he unsung? It seems like people are currently struggling to contextualize his legacy. Though his rendition of “Mr. Bojangles” is particularly poignant in this context. It’s a song about a hobo song and dance man with nobody to entertain but his cellmates. Davis, Jr. said he originally “hated” the song and was “afraid to do it, because that’s my fear: that I’ll wind up like Bojangles.”
Sammy was a part of the “Rat Pack,” sure. But when people play the classic crooners, they’re playing Sinatra, Martin, Bing Crosby, Nat “King” Cole, even Johnny Mathis come winter. But I think too many people see Sammy Davis Jr. as this black and white icon and not enough actually listen to his vibrant songs. “Mr. Bojangles” especially. And that’s what I love about that song. You can hear just how terrified he is of a future that awaits all entertainers who outlive their era.
What was the last song in? And what was the first song out?
The last song in was Peter Lemongello's “Do I Love You.” And the first song(s) out were all by Robert Goulet. Like I said, his songs are all cash. So, it was difficult for me not to include more of them.
Speaking of money, let’s talk about the crown jewel of this mix: 上を向いて歩こう (or “I Look Up When I Walk”) by Kyu Sakamoto2. I love this song. I’ve probably listened to this song—and other renditions of it3—at least fifty times since you first introduced me to it. What turned you on to this song and why is it the best?
Honestly, it was the YouTube algorithm. I was listening to some crooner music and forgot to press “replay.” Then, this beauty came up to my pleasant surprise! He’s certainly got other great songs, but this is my favorite of Sakamoto’s.
I think it perfectly encapsulates what’s great about the crooner genre. The entire song is performed in Japanese—a language of which I understand no words. So the reaction is just purely emotional. The performance transcends the lyrical content.
Agreed. It’s not about what he’s saying. It’s about how he’s performing. How he’s relating to you.
So how can we relate to you. In other words, what are you working on and where can people find it?
I was fortunate to write on a new limited series for the Starz network titled GASLIT. It premieres in the spring of 2022. I also have another limited series in development with Studio 101 that—if all goes well—should be coming out in 2023. Outside of that, I’m @AnayatF on all the relevant social media. If you wanna talk crooners, hit me up. But none of that Bublé shit.
Big thanks to Anayat for swooning us with these deep croons. It is a much welcomed change of pace and we will be forever grateful to him for introducing us to the legendary Kyu Sakamoto.
Alumni Spotlight:
Dan Svizeny is celebrating one year with Weekend Guide.
Looking for more unsung singers? Check out Waxwings.
That’s all for August, but big things coming in the fall. Subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming next.
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Goulet released over 60 albums.
This song is also known as “Sukiyaki”.
The story of this song is fascinating and I will, undoubtedly, be exploring it in greater detail in the future.