Joe Delaney remembers 1998: Steve Lippia at the Rio

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 9:14 a.m.

Steve Lippia, a natural Frank Sinatra soundalike, came to the attention of longtime Sinatra associate Tino Barzie, who joined with former Sinatra musical director Vincent Falcone and longtime Sinatra publicist, Lee Solters. Barzie, Falcone and Solters had access to the Sinatra arrangements and assembled an orchestra that included several top Sinatra sidemen regulars and featured Lippia as a person devoted to keeping the Sinatra music and memory alive. After a successful stand at the Rio and dates at the Suncoast, Lippia opted to take his Sinatra sound and join a re-creation, "The Rat Pack Is Back," in the Sahara Congo Room.

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