The Rat Pack

With shaking fingers and perspiration on my brow I, a mere sports writer, attempt the subject of music and more specifically, the Rat Pack. In fact, let me rephrase that: […]


With shaking fingers and perspiration on my brow I, a mere sports writer, attempt the subject of music and more specifically, the Rat Pack. In fact, let me rephrase that: I seek your help in the question of music. I hope it won’t seem odd that I write not to inform but to find answers…

Now, if you are not familiar with the Rat Pack, it was a group of talented, brilliant friends, composed of actors, singers, and entertainers; led by the great Humphrey Bogart. And their name? Supposedly Bogart’s wife saw the drunken group return home one fine Las Vegas evening and said, “You look like a damn rat pack.” Anyway, the Rat Pack changed and after the death of Bogart the dynamic differed; the great men that symbolized the pack from there on (the 60s) were Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr – a trio of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century. The gang also had a few others members, such as Peter Lawford, but in this scenario that is irrelevant. The question lies in this: has this trio ever been surpassed in musical talent and, most importantly, entertainment value? Every time I hear Sinatra sing “That’s Life”, Martin smoothly shout the words “ain’t that a kick in the head” or Davis’ crooning voice echo through my ears, I can’t help but think: “Was this the greatest trio of singers and entertainers to have ever lived?”

There was something more to these men than just musical talent: grandeur, confidence and physicality that seized the room. They put on a hell of a show and gave the audience a unique experience. In the 60s and 70s The Rat Pack would sell out every venue, book out every hotel and bring any city to a total standstill as soon as they announced a tour. If Dean Martin was performing, Sinatra and Davis would turn up unannounced and throw the crowd into total madness (and vice-versa of course). They lived and died the high-life of booze, broads and bright lights. They stirred the smooth sands of monotony and I wonder: has any entertainer had such an effect on the world of showbiz in our time? Or am I simply a lunatic forever stuck in the 60s?