Storied Songs

For singer Dewey Erney, as for so many others, Frank Sinatra’s death in May was a major loss.

“He was the giant of giants and I was a huge fan,” Erney said. “He had a beautiful voice and he was the master of phrasing. He set the trend for all of us in that type of bag.”

Erney, who appears Thursday at Steamers in Fullerton, said Sinatra’s desire, and his as well, was to highlight melody and lyrical content.

“There’s a story in those great old songs, and my hope is that I can get the story across as people listen,” Erney said. “It’s always made me feel good when people tell me they never paid attention to the lyric of a particular song before I sang it to them, and it was as if they were hearing it for the first time.”

Born in Latrobe, Pa., and a longtime resident of Long Beach, Erney has a mellow voice and a deep love of singing, but he put providing for his wife and children ahead of an artistic career.

He worked at Texaco in Universal City as an accountant for 33 years, retiring last year but remaining on as a part-time consultant. Still, he’s managed to appear steadily as a vocalist--his regular gig is the last Thursday of each month at Steamers in Fullerton--and to make recordings. Erney’s latest album, “Time Was” (Resurgent Music), came out in March, and he’s happy about the reception it got.

“To be able to sing these wonderful songs, to be heard on the radio, to have people buy the album, have people come hear me, that’s all quite a thrill,” Erney said. “I definitely don’t take it for granted.”

On Thursday, Erney will perform with a single accompanist: guitarist Ron Eschete, who also plays on Erney’s next album, which is still in progress.

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Depending on who’s backing him, the arrangements of the songs he chooses can vary from night to night. So while he may do songs off the “Time Was” album such as “My Funny Valentine” and “Day by Day,” there’s a good chance they won’t sound they way they do on the recording.

“When I perform, I like to play to the strength of my partners,” he said. “So where ‘Day by Day’ on the album is a bossa nova, with [other partners], I’ll probably swing it . . . maybe singing the lyrics in a different spot, employing some jazz feeling.

“I think I swing enough so that jazz people like me,” Erney said, “and I’m lyrical enough that the people who like Sinatra and Mel Torme, they like me too.”

* Singer Dewey Erney and guitarist Ron Eschete play Thursday at Steamers Cafe, 138 W. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton. 8 p.m. Minimum. (714) 871-8800.