Columnist Jerry Fink: Frankly, crooner Barrett glad to emulate his idol

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 8:35 a.m.

Jerry Fink's lounge column appears on Fridays. Reach him at 259-4058 or jerry@ lasvegassun.com.

Bobby Barrett hated high school and routinely cut classes. His favorite hiding place was the research room of the library in his hometown of Everett, Mass.

"I loved to read, I just didn't like authority," he said.

Which was why, three years ago, he was happy to kiss his career with the U.S. Postal Service in Boston goodbye.

Barrett, 40, had been a clerk there for 13 years when, with so little effort that it amazes even him, his entire life changed. He was hired by the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to do a tribute show to his idol, Frank Sinatra, someone else who had authority issues.

For the past three years he has been performing in the lounge of the Brown Derby restaurant (8 p.m.-midnight, Wednesdays-Sundays).

"I debuted on May 14, 1998," Barrett said.

If the debut date sounds familiar that's because it was the day Sinatra died of a heart attack at age 82.

There was no connection between the two events.

"It was surreal," Barrett recalled. " I went on at 8 (p.m.). He died at 10:50."

He didn't learn about Sinatra's death until the next day. He was deeply saddened.

"Half my family is Italian, half is Irish. I grew up with the Italian half. Everyone listened to Sinatra all the time. My mother loved him," Barrett said. "I know when I was 2 years old he touched my heart. They tell me everytime I heard a Sinatra song I would run around all over the house."

He recalled the first time he ever sang in public. The song was "Summer Wind."

"I was at a ski resort seven or eight years ago," Barrett said. "It was a goof-type thing. They were having an amateur contest. First prize was a set of skis. I came in second. I lost to a girl whose talent was taking her shirt off. All the judges were guys."

Barrett is the only entertainer I know who owes his career to karaoke. After losing to the girl whose lungs were more appreciated than his, Barrett began hanging out at a karaoke bar in Boston where his sister was a DJ.

"She wanted me to bring in a crowd so I brought in 20 postal workers and they talked me into singing," he said. "I sang the first couple of notes of 'That's Life' and things got kind of kooky after that."

Barrett sang Sinatra songs on karaoke every weekend for almost three years, and then the producers of an Italian dinner theater show, "Joey and Maria's Comedy Wedding," heard him and invited him to join the cast.

Barrett switched from a weekend karaoke singer to weekend dinner theater.

"I ended up being pretty good at it, as far as improv and singing and all that," Barrett said. "I learned how to work in front of an audience."

The show sometimes traveled out of town. In early 1998 Barrett took a month's leave of absence from the post office so he could go with the production company to Las Vegas, where it was to perform at the Italian American Club and a couple of other venues.

Before the show's monthlong stay was up, Barrett said the owner of the North Beach Cafe saw it and invited him to sing at his restaurant.

"So I took a year's leave of absence from the post office," he said. "I was at the North Beach Cafe for about two months, and then Richard Sturm, entertainment director here at the MGM, came in and saw me and asked if I wanted to work here."

Barrett said although he hated the post office job, he never thought about being a full-time entertainer.

"I never dreamed it would be possible in a million years," he said.

Barrett grew up singing along with Sinatra's recordings. That may explain why as his voice developed -- even his speaking voice -- it was a replica of Sinatra's, with the same cadence, inflections and tones.

"I have people come up to me all the time and say, 'Hey, let me hear your real voice,' " Barrett said. "I say, 'This is it, man.' "

Lounging Around

The free Boulder Blues series at Boulder Station's Railhead will feature Texas blues guitarist Bugs Henderson on Thursday. Henderson has been compared to Stevie Ray Vaughn, Lonnie Mack and Danny Gatton. The performance begins at 8 p.m.