The Group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People often speculate as to why the rat pack remains so deeply embedded in popular culture.  Some believe that it was because the heart of the pack (Frank, Dean, and Sammy) were peaking in their respective careers at the same moment that there fateful Summit union was formed.  Others maintain that their rise was a reaction to the fading culture of the macho American male against the encroaching hippie revolution.  

However, there are many including myself, who believe that the Rat Pack was more than just a bunch of hard-drinking, easy loving, high-rolling, celebrities who happened along at the right moment; they were an idea, an ethos, a creed.  The Rat Pack represented the notion that we are not put here on earth not merely to go through the monotonous routines of daily life.   Rather, we are here to swing.  

Admittedly, their entrance upon the world stage could not have been more well timed.  The conformist 1950's were heading into the peace, love and flower-power 1960's.  The American male was unsure how he was to behave.  They were looking for leadership, and suddenly a group of very confident cats took to the stage in a small desert town in Nevada, and the world took notice.  The time was January 1960 and they called it the Summit. 

 

Click here for an article on  The Summit.

Click here for the Legacy of the Rat Pack.