Sammy Davis Jr. Bridges to Cross" in 1954. In 1956, he starred in the Broadway musical "Mr. Wonderful" . In 1959, Davis became a member of the Rat Pack, led by his friend Frank Sinatra, which included fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford, a brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering "the Clan", but Davis voiced his opposition, saying that it reminded people of the Ku Klux Klan. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit". One long night of poker that went on into the early morning saw the men drunken and disheveled. As Angie Dickinson approached the
Frank Sinatra artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, "Ring-a-Ding-Ding!" (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on "Billboard". The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's "The Warm Moods", Sammy Davis, Jr.'s "The Wham of Sam", Mavis River's "Mavis" and Joe E. Lewis's "It is Now Post Time".