Sammy Davis, Jr.

[thommg]

Get TV, a small cable channel, is showing old reruns of The Merv Griffin Show. The other night, from Las Vegas, he featured Sammy Davis, Jr. Sammy did quite a few songs including his #1 hit, Candy Man, and ended with Mr. Bojangles. I realized as I watched that I had forgotten just how incredible his voice was. I think we sometimes get caught up in someone's public image and start to judge the talent based on that. I know I did with Sammy. I started thinking of him in his "cool cat" mode, his swinging Rat Pack guise and forgot about the immense talent underneath. I would suggest to everyone that they get some Sammy music on their mp3's and listen to him sing. Even something as slight as Candy Man sounds impressive.

[glencro]

I agree tho mmg. Sammy was a great talent and had a great presence. In Fact, "Unsung Hollywood" did a special on him not long ago. You may be able to find it on youtube or TVOne's website.

[daddyacey]

Check out the old Black movies with Sammy and Eartha Kitt. Amazing to see how young they were.

[Bluebrock]

He was an excellent vocalist and quite under appreciated in my opinion. I have quite a lot of his music and even on mediocre material that wonderful voice shines through.