Top 10 Sinatra Celebrity Invitational galas

Frank and Barbara Sinatra planned the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament, with parties chaired by the likes of Linsk and philanthropist Helene Galen. Frank provided the celebrities and the gala and golf tournament attracted some of the biggest stars in the business.

Barbara Sinatra died Tuesday morning at her Rancho Mirage home after months of declining health. She was 90.

MRS SINATRA:Barbara Sinatra dies at 90, remembered as woman who transcended role as 'Mrs. Frank Sinatra'

IN REMEMBRANCE:Barbara Sinatra through the years

These are the top 10 Sinatra Celebrity Invitational galas:

1989: Winds uproot trees and cause such damage to the Canyon Country Club golf courses, the final round of the first Celebrity Invitational is canceled. But, at the gala at the Radisson (Riviera) ballroom, Frank Sinatra opens with “Come Rain or Come Shine.” The  opening acts are Buddy Greco, Norm Crosby, Diahann Carroll and Vic Damone. Just the singers in the audience include Dinah Shore, Andy Williams, Pat Boone, Howard Keel, Jerry Vale and Peter Marshall. 

“You look around and there’s everybody that you’ve ever seen in the audience," said Greco. "It was the beginning of this whole thing with the tournament.”

1990: Throat cancer prevents Sammy Davis Jr. from performing with Sinatra as advertised, but pals Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme join Sinatra at the Marriott Desert Springs Resort Ballroom and attendance doubles to 1,000 people. The theme is “Frank Sinatra – The Man and His Music” after Sinatra's 1965 TV special.

1991: Liza Minnelli thrills a record crowd at the Marriott, including Davis’ widow, Altovise. The highlight is a duet of “Get Happy/Happy Days Are Here Again” with her sister, Lorna Luft. Sinatra follows by singing a set of his standards while sitting on a stool. “I don’t dare stand up,” he said, “’cuz if I stood up, I’d fall down.”

1992: Dean Martin is slated to headline with Julio Iglesias, but, after the Spanish sensation's set, comic Tom Dreesen announces, “Dean Martin has a sore throat. The good news is, he sent a replacement, and he thinks he has real possibilities in this business.” Sinatra, 76, then walks on stage and performs an eight-song set, including “New York, New York.”

1993: Natalie Cole, riding the success of her 1992 Grammy-winning album, “Unforgettable With Love,” prompts the crowd to leap to its feet with her video duet with her father, Nat King Cole, on “Unforgettable.” Sinatra follows with standards such as “The Best Is Yet to Come.” One writer calls it the best gala show yet. Seven months later, Sinatra releases his own “Duets” CD and it becomes his best-selling album ever.

1995: Country star Willie Nelson opens for Sinatra, who Nelson calls the world’s best singer. Sinatra sings six songs, “ending with The Best Is Yet To Come.” It is literally the last full song he'll ever perform in public.

1996: Frank and Barbara return to the desert after selling their Rancho Mirage compound and moving to Los Angeles. Crooners Robert Goulet, Jack Jones, Jerry Vale, Andy Williams, Buddy Greco and Yucaipa native Susan Anton follow Dreesen in paying homage to the Sinatras.

1999: Frank Sinatra Jr., sitting with Barbara Sinatra and Barry Manilow for dinner, impresses a Westin Mission Hills crowd with his vocals in the first gala after his father's death the previous May. “It was kind of a painful evening for me, doing his music with his orchestrations in that environment,” he said later. “A lot of us had tears in our eyes."

2000: Manilow, who had just released a “Manilow Sings Sinatra” CD, brings youthful vigor to the Sinatra repertoire with new arrangements. He performs only with Dreesen, establishing a tradition Wayne Newton, Lou Rawls, Suzanne Somers and others will follow.

2004: Tony Bennett, who opened for Sinatra in 1994, shines at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort, proving he is a worthy heir to Sinatra’s legacy.