The Classic Candy Frank Sinatra Wanted Before Going Onstage

Hired musicians often include riders in their contracts — a list of requirements for their dressing room and backstage areas. One surprising rider came from none other than classic crooner Frank Sinatra for a 1992 concert in Washington, D.C. Despite the fact that he preferred spending time in his dressing room alone, he asked that it be stocked with no fewer than 24 rolls of Life Savers.

According to a contemporary report from the Tampa Bay Times, Ol' Blue Eyes required 12 rolls of assorted Life Savers and 12 cherry-flavored rolls. He loved the cherry kind so much that his daughter Nancy reportedly included a roll in his casket, along with Tootsie Rolls, another one of the singer's favorite old-school candies.

Following the show, Sinatra apparently left most of his rider items at the venue, so the reason why he requested so much candy remains a mystery. Some believe hard candy can lubricate the throat in preparation for singing, but Luden's cough drops (also on his rider) presumably could have accomplished the same thing.

Frank Sinatra's rider suggested either that the crooner worked up a substantial appetite while performing, or that he never wanted to be without his favorite foods. In addition to his two dozen rolls of Life Savers, Sinatra required three cans of Campbell's chicken and rice soup, six sandwiches (two egg salad, two chicken salad, two turkey), a cheese tray, a bowl of chips and pretzels, and a bag of mini Tootsie Rolls.

The singer also wanted lots of beverage options to wash everything down. His rider specified red and white wine, plus five bottles of hard liquor, including Jack Daniel's, which Liquor.com reports he called "the nectar of the gods." He asked for plenty of non-alcoholic drinks as well, like six bottles of Evian water, one bottle of Perrier, and two dozen sodas, mostly diet (but almost certainly including one of his favorites: Coca-Cola).

This sizable rider wasn't unique to the 1992 Washington, D.C. concert, either. According to Forbes, Sinatra's team provided a nearly identical rider for a 1991 performance in Toledo, Ohio. In this one, he requested two ham and cheese sandwiches instead of turkey, but the Life Savers request was exactly the same.