In 1961, after writing a long article on band leader
Nelson Riddle, Douglas-Home and his wife Sandra were invited to dinner by
Frank Sinatra, after which he was authorized by Sinatra to write the singer's first biography. However, several years later, Sinatra took strong exception to something Douglas-Home had reportedly said about him and terminated their friendship with a terse telegram ("You blew it"); it was said that Douglas-Home was crushed by this and never fully recovered from the incident.