The “Ultimate Event” and Frank Sinatra’s last tours
By Mahnuel Muñoz
The “Ultimate Event” was created in 1988 to fulfill the concert agenda of the “Together Again Tour”, which was cut short with the departure of Dean Martin due to mental and health problems. Martin was replaced by the brilliant Liza Minnelli, who brought a touch of freshness and youth to the show. The success of the “Ultimate Event” tour even motivated the recording of a television special that allowed millions of people who did not have the opportunity to watch the show live to enjoy the unmatched chemistry between the artists.
Starting in 1990, and after the death of Sammy Davis Jr., the “Ultimate Event” was replaced by the “Diamond Jubilee Tour”, which celebrated Sinatra’s fifty years on the front line of show business. For this tour Sinatra was able to count on the singing couple formed by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Between 1992 and 1994 Sinatra would alternate his solo concerts with small tours in the company of Shirley MacLaine or Natalie Cole. The concerts held with these great artists and the incorporation of Frank Sinatra Jr. as musical director were a fundamental pillar in the final years of Frank’s artistic career, who suffered from health problems that probably would have forced him to leave the stage if he had not the important emotional support of artists and people he loved and admired and who did not hesitate to take care of him.
