Michael J. Perkins of Plainfield, Ill. brings the standards back to life with classics from his biggest influences Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, and Dean Martin.  Perkins fell in love with the standards after hearing Frank Sinatra on the radio. He bought a CD and it never left his stereo, and he memorized the songs almost immediately.

Mike Sallade, a close friend of Perkins, remembers the first time he heard his demo. “When I first heard it, I was convinced that it was actually Frank Sinatra singing instead of him,” he said. “The similarities were uncanny!”

According to Perkins, the standards are timeless. “The standards give me life,” he said.

Singing since age three and knowing he wanted to make music his life in just the third grade, Perkins began his professional career by singing at local events once in a while in 2002, and has expanded to upscale restaurants, banquets, and weddings ever since.

Perkins feels best when he is onstage performing and says he always hopes to leave his audience wanting more. He hopes to one day have a band behind him and dreams of singing the standards regularly in casinos. “I love being on stage and in front of people,” he said. “It’s who I am, and what I was put here [on this earth] to do.”

Diane McConnaughay, fan of Perkins, claims that Michael is a first class entertainer. “He is a 5-star performer! The wedding guests just sat there and listened to him sing.  We did have some guests get up and dance while he was singing, but most of them just sat in awe.”

Sallade, one of Perkins’ biggest fans, attends almost every one of Perkins’ performance. “A Michael J. Perkins performance is always a great time, and I plan to follow his show wherever it goes,” he said.

“It is impossible to not have fun at one of his shows-- he defines star quality,” agrees McConnaughay.