Every time I saw Sinatra on stage, he was wearing a tux. The same was true with Sammy Davis Jr., Deane Martin, Mel Torme, Liberace, and a host of other greats. Now, they probably didn't have to wear a tux, but they, like many top entertainers, took pride in their appearance. The only time I did not wear a tie and vest was when I performed during the summer months, when I switched to fancy Guayabera shirts. As soon as the weather cooled down a bit, I was back to the ties and fancy vests. And, when I performed in Baltimore's Little Italy, I wore a tux every night, summer and winter.

Donny, I really don't believe that just because people are young they should throw away their pride of appearance and look like they just crawled out of a wine bottle and went on stage. Keep in mind that nearly all the doo-wap groups of the 50s and 60s wore tuxedos and they mostly consisted of young people. I remember seeing Chuck Berry perform in Baltimore and he wore a tux. Same was true for a group called the Five Satins, who wore very fancy silver/gray tuxedos instead of the traditional black tuxedos.

I don't pass this kind of thing off as progress - I consider it regressive instead.

All the best,

Gary