..and so it goes.

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." -Marilyn Monroe
February 7
life: In 1964, Frank Sinatra savors a drink and a smoke backstage at the Sands Hotel and Casino, where he swung with the Count Basie Band. Out of that landmark collaboration came the great live album, Sinatra at the Sands. Here, in celebration of a lost era and its sharkskin-suited troubadors, LIFE presents a slew of previously unpublished photos of the Rat Pack, together and apart, during their heyday.

life:

In 1964, Frank Sinatra savors a drink and a smoke backstage at the Sands Hotel and Casino, where he swung with the Count Basie Band. Out of that landmark collaboration came the great live album, Sinatra at the Sands.

Here, in celebration of a lost era and its sharkskin-suited troubadors, LIFE presents a slew of previously unpublished photos of the Rat Pack, together and apart, during their heyday.