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LISBON – By day, he’s a 30-year investment advisor with a Boardman office.
By weekend, he’s frequently on national tour crooning Sinatra songs as a featured performer with the Sandy Hackett Rat Pack Show organized by late comedian Buddy Hackett’s son.
The “he” is Angelo Babbaro who as a teen queried his mother for the name of a singer he heard frequently on her favorite AM radio channel.
“I heard this voice and asked her who is that?” he said. Her reply: “It’s Frank Sinatra.”
On Sunday, Aug. 14, locals will have the opportunity to hear this national touring artist at a concert to benefit the Lisbon Food Pantry and missions of Lisbon First United Methodist Church. The event is at 3 p.m. at David Anderson High School.
Babbaro started buying Sinatra music on cassette tapes in his mid-20s and began singing the tunes aloud while mowing grass, driving in his car, and at work.
Those in his social circle liked what they heard. Their encouraging words prompted Babbaro to begin secretly recording his voice at Peppermint Recording Studio in Youngstown, though he yet had no defined dream of going any further with his new-found talent. “Married and with children and a mortgage,” he said, kept him from pursuing even a quasi-involvement in the entertainment field.
“But then I ran into the right people,” he said. A Sinatra “fanatic” who heard Babbaro and was so impressed “that he thinks I have Sinatra’s DNA,” gave him the confidence to schedule a show which led to a sold-out performance at Powers Auditorium in Youngstown.
Babbaro then lined up a manager, publicist and booking agent whose promotion efforts resulted in a call from Sandy Hackett. “He told me I was the greatest Sinatra singer he’s ever seen or heard,” Babbaro said, and he was invited to join Hackett’s national tour.
The tour plays in major metropolitan areas in venues that seat thousands.
While Babbaro enjoys the tours and the accompanying celebrity-like treatment, he confesses, “I want to give back. I don’t want to profit off local people from my singing.”
With that as his mantra, Babbaro annually chooses a non-profit and waives his fee to help the designated organization. This year’s Food Pantry and missions benefit brings him to Lisbon, home to several of his investment clients. The church’s pantry managers have established a $20 admission fee, or $15 with two non-perishable items.
Tickets are available at the door or by calling the church office at 330-424-5212 to use a credit card or for pickup at the church office, 114 E. Washington St., by noon on Tuesdays or by 3 p.m. the other weekdays. Tickets are also available at the Lisbon Area Chamber of Commerce, 120 N. Market St., by 3 p.m. weekdays.
For a sneak peek of the performer, visit his website at angelobabbaro.com or call up postings of him on YouTube.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Cathie DeFazio is a former managing editor of the Salem News)