Jay-Z, Sinatra, A Contest & You

It’s a one-two punch featuring two of the best concert performers ever to grace a stage. First up is the man many acclaim as the greatest rapper of all time starring in “Fuse Presents Jay-Z Live From Madison Square Garden: Answer The Call,” documenting the star’s Sept. 11 performance at The Garden.

Yes, we know. You’re saying, “Huh? Jay-Z on the MSG Network? Isn’t MSG a sports cable outlet?  And why the ‘Fuse’ mention?”

Well, yeah, but MSG also airs entertainment. Besides, Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind” is quickly becoming the anthem for all New York City pro sports victories. Plus, MSG and Fuse are both divisions of TV cable company Cablevision, so it’s like one big happy family.

But the Jay-Z concert airing 10:30 p.m. tomorrow night is only half the package. You might even say he’s the “warm-up” for what follows as MSG airs “Frank Sinatra: The Main Event Live From Madison Square Garden,” one hour after Jay-Z at 11:30 p.m.

MSG will present encore performances on Saturday evening, but the programs will flip-flop with Sinatra airing at 10:30 p.m. and Jay-Z at 11:30 p.m.

This is a great chance to compare entertainment eras. Sinatra was still at the top of his game when he performed at The Garden in 1974, capping a six-city tour with Woody Herman & The Thundering Herd. The concert was broadcast live on ABC Television and sports commentator Howard Cosell even introduced Ol’ Blues Eyes. As if Sinatra needed an introduction.

We also want to tell you about the poll MSG is conducting. Regarding which song is New York City’s sports anthem – Sinatra singing “New York, New York,” or Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind” – MSG is asking for your opinion. Just click here or here to help them out.

Now we promised you a prize and it’s a great one. Just for reading about the two concerts airing this weekend, The MSG Network and Pollstar are giving you an opportunity to win the Sinatra box set titled “Sinatra: New York” – five CDs filled with recordings of The Chairman of the Board performing live in the Big Apple.

We’ll award the box set to the best mash-up of Jay-Z and Sinatra song titles. To make this even easier, click here to see Jay-Z’s discography listed on Wikipedia, and here to browse through Sinatra’s incredible catalog.

For example, you could combine Jay-Z’s “Excuse Me Miss,” with Sinatra’s 1956 recording “Can I Steal A Little Love” to come up with the mash-up title “Excuse Me Miss, Can I Steal A Little Love?”

Entry deadline is Monday, Dec. 7 at 11:00 am (Pacific Standard Time).

That’s “Fuse Presents Jay-Z Life From Madison Square Garden: Answer The Call” at 10:30 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow night on MSG followed by “Frank Sinatra: The Main Event Life From Madison Square Garden” one hour later at 11:30 p.m.

And don’t forget to send your own Jay-Z / Sinatra song title mashups to [email protected]. As usual, employees and / or owners of all companies involved (including family members – by blood or by marriage) are ineligible to enter.

Click here for the MSG Network Web site.

Click here to access Wikipedia’s list of Jay-Z singles.

Click here to access Wikipedia’s list of Frank Sinatra singles.

Click here to email your contest entry.