Dinah Shore

It’s ironic that the singer Dinah Shore, a heterosexual woman with a mom and apple pie image, who was American’s favorite girl vocalist in the 1940’s has become inextricably linked to the biggest gathering of lesbians in the United State. It all has to do with her love of sports.

Dinah Shore was a sports enthusiast who like many celebrities participated in a lot of charity sports events. In the early 70’s she was approached by the Colgate Company to lend her name to a golf tournament for women in Palm Springs. In 1972 the Colgate Dinah Shore Tournament was born. And so was a weekend of partying for the women who came to see the tournament. Golf for some reason has always had a large lesbian following and with each passing year the tournament grew in importance and the number of women coming to Palm Springs grew too until the parties took on a life of their own and became unofficially known as the Dinah Shore Weekend.

How Dinah Shore felt about having her named linked with that of thousands of lesbians is unclear though rumor has it that Dinah was less than thrilled. Here she is, little Frances Rose Shore from Tennessee, who grew up to be Dinah Shore, one of the leading female vocalists in the country, married to one of Hollywood’s leading men, George Montgomery, now best known for her lesbian laden golf tournament.

But then on the other hand many lesbians feel they too have been dealt a cruel hand. There biggest event of the year is saddled with the name Dinah Shore, someone that most young lesbians never heard of and besides she was straight. Older lesbians remember Dinah Shore for what that is worth. She was after all not only a singer but a big star in the early days of television with her own weekly series called the Dinah Shore Chevy Show.

Dinah Shore died in Palm Springs in 1994 at the age of 78. She will always be remembered as one of the popular radio singers of the 30’s and later for her “girl next door” movies made at Warner Brothers in the 40’s. And if you live in Palm Springs for her street, Dinah Shore Drive.

But in this day and time she is most famous for the golf tournament, that no longer bears her name, and the biggest lesbian party in the country, the annual Palm Springs Dinah Shore Weekend.