Lee Dean Brings Swinging with Sinatra to Sal’s Italian Eatery and Speakeasy
Kevin Stepp
The Ashland Beacon
In Ashland, the Fourth of July always means the arrival of Summer Motion, and the annual festival opened with carnival rides at the Ashland Riverfront Friday night. But over at Sal’s Italian Eatery and Speakeasy, some local singers were setting off musical fireworks with some of the most American music ever recorded.
Lee Dean portrayed Frank Sinatra from his heyday… fedora, black suit, and effortless South Jersey charm in his show called “Swinging with Sinatra.” From the opening with Fly Me to the Moon to New York, New York, Dean filled his portion of the evening with all the classics as well as engaging the audience with Sinatra banter. Some of the audience interaction sprang from a “Spotlighting Sweeties” form that he asked couples to fill out prior to every show. Between songs, Dean read the forms that asked how long the couple had been together, how they met, and favorite things about each other. Occasionally, Dean would throw in some classic marriage humor as he did to Max and Sandy Bowling. After reading that the Bowlings have been married 44 years, Dean added “This guy told me about the three Rings of marriage…the engagement Ring, the wedding Ring…, and the suffeRing! Ain’t that right, pal? Sorry, you’ll be sleepin’ on the couch tonight!”
Costarring in Friday’s show were The Monroe Sisters (Lauren Meyer, Jane Modlin, and Jennifer Scott) who sang songs from the American songbook, including ‘40s doo-wop (Bugle Boy of Company ‘B’), country (Love Can Build a Bridge), and Broadway (Loathing from “Wicked”). The trio have been performing together since 2013. One of the group’s favorites to perform is Going to the Chapel. The women blended their voices into layered three-part harmonies that changed as the eras they were singing from changed.
Before the show, Dean walked through the room, greeting diners and asking questions. During the show, those conversations made it to the stage as he celebrated birthdays and special individuals in attendance. Friday night, Kimberly Crawford surprised her daughter Kayla Voland for her 34th birthday with dinner and the show because of Kayla’s love of the Rat Pack, the legendary group of singers and actors associated with Sinatra through the 50s and 60s, Dean led the audience in a hearty singing of “Happy Birthday, Dear Rockstar!” to Kayla. Kayla described the night as “amazing and cool.”
Another couple celebrated through the “Spotlighting Sweeties” was Vicki and Mike Payton who were eating at Sal’s for the first time. “It was awesome,” Vicki said. “I like the atmosphere and the nice attire of the wait staff. It was such a fun evening.”
Dean’s performance as Sinatra began with a request from a friend as they prepared for an interactive theater performance called “Murder and Merriment.”
“My best friend George Snider asked me to portray Frank Sinatra in a Murder mystery. People loved my interpretation and asked me to consider building a show around it. It launched December 13, 2019, in Welch, WV with a ‘sold out’ show.” Dean’s description of ‘sold out’ is really another word for high attendance because he never charges for any show, even ones like Sal’s. “I will accept whatever they may want to give, but I never charge anything because this is about more than money. These servers (at Sal’s) work for tips, and if we can pack out the house, they make more money and everyone wins. Ashland needs places like Sal’s where folks can come to have a great meal and enjoy a good time to be healthy.”
Dean performs about 20 nights each month in shows he has created. In addition to the Sinatra tribute, he also performs as Elvis Presley, which debuted as a solo show in 2020. He also created a ‘Rat Pack’ show with Snider that features Snider as Dean Martin and, occasionally a singer portraying Marilyn Monroe, who will sing a breathy Happy Birthday to someone in the audience. Many of his shows are for community organizations or local festivals, but his favorite shows are the shows at nursing homes.
“The folks at nursing homes love the fast songs like Jailhouse Rock and Hound Dog by Elvis and Fly Me to the Moon and New York, New York by Sinatra. I love performing for those folks because many of them may not get many visitors, and then we show up and their eyes pop wide…it is great.”
The ‘we’ Dean speaks of include his fellow performers such as The Monroe Sisters, Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, or Marilyn Monroe, but it also includes his wife, Hailey, who often serves as his sound engineer and roadie. Hailey, who works as a nurse at Cabell HealthCare Center, attended last night's show with Dean’s daughters Ellie, a nursing major at Marshall, and Lena, a 2023 graduate of Cabell Midland who is headed to Marshall this fall.
Despite his schedule, which includes his day job as a field representative for West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner and serving on the advisory board for Huntington Salvation Army, Dean has been known to drive all night to get to a show for a local group or retirement community. The “Swinging with Sinatra” and “Swinging with Elvis” shows have been performed in eight states including the Tri-State, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland.
Dean’s work with elections mirrors his belief in America, and that came through during the patriotic portion of the show as he sang, sounding more like Lee than Sinatra, My Country Tis of Thee and God Bless the USA. The Monroes added God Bless America.
Friday night’s show, billed as “Fourth of July Fun,” was the first of three performances of Dean’s “Swinging with Sinatra” tribute show this summer at the eatery situated at 1624 Carter Avenue. He will return on July 28 for “Music and Magic” accompanied by magician Norm Clerc, and again on August 25 in “Viva Las Vegas” with Neil Loprinzi performing as Bobby Darin.
Sal’s Italian Eatery and Speakeasy can be reached at 606. 393.1312. Lee Dean may be reached at 304.972.1119.
