NYC subway construction worker channels Frank Sinatra
August 3, 2011 10:12 AM Subscribe
Gary Russo from Queens sings Summer Wind, the Frank Sinatra classic, on his break from helping build the 2nd Avenue subway. (Here's Sinatra singing it.)
Mr. Russo gots chops.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 10:45 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Benny Andajetz at 10:45 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
I love the other construction workers in the back trying to play it cool. Is street karaoke a thing now? It should be a thing.
posted by orrnyereg at 10:53 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by orrnyereg at 10:53 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Good on him. I love things like this. Years ago there used to be a man worked at Upton Park tube station who wrote little poems on a blackboard to entertain the commuters. Sometimes they had tube status updates included. It always made me smile on my journey to and from work. I would be absolutely knocked out to be walking down the street and come across Gary singing to the passers-by.
posted by essexjan at 10:56 AM on August 3, 2011
posted by essexjan at 10:56 AM on August 3, 2011
He is good.
posted by AugustWest at 11:10 AM on August 3, 2011
posted by AugustWest at 11:10 AM on August 3, 2011
RIAA cease-and-desist in 3... 2... 1...
posted by Kyol at 11:12 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Kyol at 11:12 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Thanks, that was AWESOME!!!
posted by incandissonance at 11:30 AM on August 3, 2011
posted by incandissonance at 11:30 AM on August 3, 2011
He looks like Tommy Lee Jones's homunculus.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:30 AM on August 3, 2011
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 11:30 AM on August 3, 2011
I love seeing how multi-dimensional people really are. We become so jaded, slotting people into their stereotyped roles, and then people like Gary come along and show us that we can all be more than we appear!
posted by jpeacock at 11:33 AM on August 3, 2011
posted by jpeacock at 11:33 AM on August 3, 2011
Sigh. New York is the greatest city in the entire world.
posted by functionequalsform at 11:44 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by functionequalsform at 11:44 AM on August 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
He looks like Tommy Lee Jones's homunculus.
Maybe with a little Harry Shearer in there.
And yeah, he's good.
posted by theodolite at 11:52 AM on August 3, 2011
Maybe with a little Harry Shearer in there.
And yeah, he's good.
posted by theodolite at 11:52 AM on August 3, 2011
Stuff like this is one of the delights of living in a city, for me. Random bits of music and art in unexpected places make my day. This guy has a very nice voice and he's got the whole crooner shtick going - I wonder if he moonlights as a singer, or is trying to break into the music scene. Aren't half of the waiters in the Big Apple aspiring actors or musicians? No reason why construction workers can't have big dreams, too.
NYC has some of the best street musicians and the Music Under New York program is wonderful. The incongruity of a serious young woman in concert attire playing the cello in a grimy fluorescent-lit subway station still makes me smile.
posted by Quietgal at 11:58 AM on August 3, 2011
NYC has some of the best street musicians and the Music Under New York program is wonderful. The incongruity of a serious young woman in concert attire playing the cello in a grimy fluorescent-lit subway station still makes me smile.
posted by Quietgal at 11:58 AM on August 3, 2011
I initially misread the OP, and thought for a moment, "what the hell is a former member of Queen doing working on a subway construction crew???"
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:59 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:59 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
This is how Édith Piaf got her start, keep trying bud!
posted by stbalbach at 12:11 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by stbalbach at 12:11 PM on August 3, 2011
He's much better than the assclown who hired the band I'm in for the express purpose of making us accompany him at his 50th high school reunion.
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:13 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by randomkeystrike at 12:13 PM on August 3, 2011
I initially misread the OP, and thought for a moment, "what the hell is a former member of Queen doing working on a subway construction crew???"
If it was Freddy Mercury, that's pretty much how he spent all his free time.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:16 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
If it was Freddy Mercury, that's pretty much how he spent all his free time.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 12:16 PM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wasn't there a cop that did the same thing on the LES like twenty years ago? Right down to the Sinatra songs?
Oh and the opera singing sanitation man is not a myth, I have heard him.
posted by The Whelk at 1:42 PM on August 3, 2011
Oh and the opera singing sanitation man is not a myth, I have heard him.
posted by The Whelk at 1:42 PM on August 3, 2011
I've always loved Sinatra's version, and finding such a fine rendition sung on the street by such an incredibly endearing guy has really made my day. (Thanks to the As It Happens repeat for reminding me about this thread.)
posted by maudlin at 9:36 PM on August 4, 2011
posted by maudlin at 9:36 PM on August 4, 2011
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posted by box at 10:16 AM on August 3, 2011 [1 favorite]