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Tina Sinatra took a spin around campus on Saturday, December 11, visiting the residence hall that bears her father’s name and the campus radio station, where a student disc jockey keeps the legacy of Frank Sinatra alive with a show devoted to the American songbook.

The stop at Montclair was part of a weekend celebration of the 106th anniversary of the singer’s birth on December 12, 1915, including the unveiling of a sculpture by Carolyn D. Palmer in Sinatra’s hometown of Hoboken. The bronze statue is among the many tributes in Sinatra’s home state, where the singer, actor and music icon is one of New Jersey’s best known celebrities.

A special broadcast of signature Sinatra songs played on WMSC 90.3 FM during Tina Sinatra’s visit to Montclair. “He resonates with people,” says Zach Taglioli, a senior majoring in Communication and Media Arts and Sinatra superfan who was spinning the records. “His music is timeless. That’s why we’re still talking about him till this day.”

Back in 2010, Montclair students voted to honor Sinatra by naming new housing Francis A. Sinatra Hall. The University’s residence halls are traditionally named for famous New Jerseyans – notables like Count Basie, Walt Whitman, Clara Barton and Althea Gibson, among others. In the six-story Sinatra suite residence on Clove Road, vintage photographs and history of his roots, legacy, philanthropy and politics, adorn the lobby. “Everywhere you turn, you see him,” Tina Sinatra said. “He would get a kick out of this.”

As students showed her around, Tina Sinatra looked closely, remarking, “I love all the touches. It’s really homey.” Her genuine remarks touched the College of the Arts students – Kwadjo Bekoe, junior, Fashion Studies; Tommy Foster, junior, Television and Digital Media; Robyn Platz, sophomore, Public Relations; and Lauren Wright, senior, Music Education. “I was really nervous, but she’s so personable and kind, and she had such lovely things to say about our home here,” Platz said.

Tina Sinatra is a businesswoman, film producer, entrepreneur and author who manages the Sinatra business. “We work closely when we can with universities and colleges because we think that he is to be perpetuated, has to be the center of things. So I love that we have a dormitory here at Montclair. I love that there is a connection to the music department. Your college is very impressive,” she said during the radio broadcast.

“How do you think your father would feel knowing how much he means to our American identity?” Taglioli asked during the “Standards and Stories” live segment.

“I think he would be surprised, but humbled,” Tina Sinatra said. “It’s a conversation you kind of have toward the end of someone’s life and he was hopeful.”

For Taglioli, meeting Tina Sinatra was an opportunity he won’t soon forget. He grew up in a small South Jersey town outside of Philadelphia, and like so many families, Sinatra provided the soundtrack to their lives.

“Sunday dinner was something from the Goodfellows – pasta stirring and Sinatra playing. I found that I connected to the music, and on top of that, it kept me out of trouble,” Taglioli shared as he prepared for the interview.

“When other kids were out playing, I was inside listening to Sinatra music, watching his movies and documentaries, reading the books.” Taglioli’s deep appreciation led to the radio show and his own performances singing the music in local restaurants, festivals and theaters.

Taglioli’s favorite song? The Sinatra classic, “That’s Life.” “It evokes a positive message, and it’s a song that I love. Actually, it won me my first flat screen television [at a Montclair talent show] and it also got me a girl’s number, though I’m still waiting for her to call.”

As he planned for the interview, Taglioli focused his questions on what Sinatra was like behind the scenes as a father and grandfather. “I know Sinatra was a great collector of trains during the Christmas season, so I’m interested in learning more about the little facts that people may not know,” he said. Among the tidbits gleaned, Sinatra’s favorite pies: pumpkin and Boston cream.

The conversation with Tina Sinatra included family memories and the Hoboken honor, ending with advice for the new generation of Sinatra lovers like Taglioli trying to keep the great American songbook alive.

“The most important thing to a young singer is to find their own interpretation,” Tina Sinatra said. “That’s what he did. He only sang what he could identify with … If he couldn’t experience it in himself within his soul, he just didn’t sing it.

“You have to conquer, you have to make the music yours.”

In a nod to Montclair in her closing remarks at the Hoboken tribute, Tina Sinatra ended with a memory of her father as a boy listening to the radio at night to lull himself to sleep. “He began to focus on boat whistles, train whistles, snowflakes. And he began to dream about where they were going,” she said. Frank Sinatra believed that “dreaming about where you want to go is the most possible way to make that happen.”

Tina Sinatra continued, “We were at ��Ʒ���˸������� yesterday. We were surrounded by youth and some wonderful personnel. It was a great, great experience. They all have dreams, those kids. We are all not of that age anymore, so we have to remember what they were and aspire to them to this day.”

Story by Staff Writer Marilyn Joyce Lehren. Photos by University Photographer Mike Peters.

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