Company Town : Sinatra Duets: Capitol Records’ Love of Them Is Lovelier the 2nd Time Around

In a year when Capitol Records scored with Blind Melon and the comeback album by Duran Duran,its biggest success still belonged to a 78-year-old crooner.

“Frank Sinatra Duets,” which had “The Chairman” trading lyrics with vocalists as far afield as Barbra Streisand and Bono, shipped 5 million copies worldwide and revived Sinatra’s dormant recording career. It also helped launch the tribute genre as an industry unto itself.

Now Capitol hopes to hit pay dirt again with “Frank Sinatra Duets II,” which comes out next week and pairs Sinatra with such diverse performers as Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Jimmy Buffet, Neil Diamond and even Frank Sinatra Jr., who joins his father on “My Kind of Town.”

Charles Koppelman, chairman of EMI Records Group North America, Capitol’s parent, says the Sinatra duets have become a franchise. The original “Duets” sold heavily to people 25 and older, who are not usually big album buyers. The follow-up is being launched with a CBS Thanksgiving special featuring old and new footage of Sinatra singing with others. And Capitol has already recorded at least one song that could show up on a “Duets III.”

“What’s clear to us is that people in general, meaning everyone that likes music, really enjoys hearing great singers sing with Frank Sinatra, who is certainly the best of the best,” Koppelman said. “Plus it clearly has a built-in audience.”

Sinatra’s success aside, some industry executives still view tribute albums as novelties just one step removed from true oddities like the famous kazoo version of “Louie, Louie.” Overall, tribute releases have met with more failure than success. And some critics contend that Capitol over-shipped the first “Frank Sinatra Duets” to create the appearance of bigger sales.

But many record companies remain enamored of the genre, in which major stars often salute their influences. The most successful recent compilation is Giant Records’ “Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles,” featuring country stars singing Eagles classics. The record sold more than 2.4 million copies domestically and helped encourage the group’s reunion.

The outpouring also includes tributes to the Carpenters, Black Sabbath and Kiss, as well as “Sweet Relief,” a fund-raising album for singer Victoria Williams; “You Got Lucky,” which salutes Tom Petty; “No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison”; “All Men Are Brothers--A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield,” and “Beat the Retreat--Songs by Richard Thompson.”

MCA may be the tribute champ when it comes to volume. It released “Elton John Duets” and “Rhythm Country & Blues,” which paired major country stars with their rhythm-and-blues counterparts. Its latest efforts are “George Jones: The Bradley Barn Sessions” and “Skynyrd Frynds.”

MCA Music Entertainment Group Chairman Al Teller says tribute albums have always been around but have recently gotten a boost from CD technology, which has led record companies to repackage and salute the works of established performers. Teller calls the genre “event records.” He says they generally succeed if they’re conceived and executed properly.

“Like anything in our business, you have to pick your spot very carefully,” he said. “The concept has to make sense and the execution has to be of the top magnitude. You can’t fake one of these. You also count on a lot of good press and word of mouth.”

MCA is looking at other possible salutes, but Teller says there are no firm plans as of now. Meanwhile, Capitol/EMI has high expectations for its Sinatra sequel. The singing legend recorded his vocals in one session at Capitol’s Hollywood studio about nine months ago. Like the time before, his duet partners added their vocals to the existing tracks.

Koppelman says “Duets II” could outperform the first, due to the high recognition factor. The smorgasbord of singers joining him also includes Linda Ronstadt, Lena Horne, Patti LaBelle, Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson, John Secada and international stars Luis Miguel and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Koppelman says he got most of the people on his wish list. Two holdouts were Madonna, who was busy recording her own album, and Luciano Pavarotti, who recorded “My Way” too late to make the “Duets II” deadline. Koppelman says it will show up on a later album.

Like MCA, Capitol has no other major duet projects planned. But Koppelman says it’s easy to explain their appeal. “People love duets,” he said. “It’s easier for people to listen to two singers for 3 1/2 minutes than one.”

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Blues children: The House of Blues has made good on its promise to educate school-age children on the history and evolution of American roots music. Its three-day-a-week program kicked off last week at the West Hollywood club with a musical performance by Black Coffee and Jam, an art tour and a history lesson presented by actors for children from the Marvin Avenue School in Los Angeles.

The series, sponsored by the International House of Blues Foundation Program, is designed to promote racial harmony and encourage more music appreciation programs in schools.

Top-Selling Tribute Albums

Tribute albums are being mass-produced by the record industry. The top sellers (with label and number of copies sold) so far this year:

1. Common Thread: Songs of the Eagles (Giant), 2.4 million copies

2. Frank Sinatra Duets (Capitol), 2.4 million

3. Rhythm Country & Blues (MCA), 790,000

4. Elton John Duets (MCA), 659,783

5. If I Were a Carpenter (A&M;), 84,751

6. Tribute to Black Sabbath (Columbia), 53,374

7. Kiss My A-- (PolyGram), 19,795

Source: Domestic sales, SoundScan