I remember Sammy Davis Jr. when he lent his name to the then Greater Hartford Open, a yearly golf tournament, now known as the St.Paul’s Travelars Golf Championship, which just took place a couple of weeks ago. It was at the time that famous people lent out their names to golf tournaments.
Let’s get some facts straight about Michael Jackson:
First, his recording success was in a single genre....pop. The real ‘King’, Elvis, crossed-over gospel, rock, country, etc, etc, etc with hits in each.
Second, Michael Jackson’s hits came right as the US was coming out of a deep recession and the Vietnam era. The country was hungry for something entertaining and Michael Jackson was absolutely that....at the time.
Third, Michael Jackson’s hits were the last big hits of the non-download era, where record sales were everything and nobody bought single songs from Wal-Mart. In this age, there will never be hit albums again....only hit songs.
Fourth, if you look at the number of albums Michael Jackson sold versus the population and compared this to Elvis or the Beattles, you will see he was not that big of a hit.
Just some ‘facts’.
I would respectfully disagree with Larry Elder and cast my vote for “Satchmo”.
“The liquid in the mug was not beer, but urine.”
No offense to the memory of Mr. Davis, and I’m sure he suffered racial attacks, but the quote above is not a sign of racism. It’s a sign of a stupid fraternity-type prank.
Most guys that drank when they were young have had something disgusting slipped to them unawares, whether they were within that fraternity or without.
Geez your right I had forgotten Sammy Davis Jr was black!
He was an American.
Not an African American.
He was, indeed!
Regarding the racism that Mr. Dvis endured: At one time, black entertainers could perform at all the Vegas hotels, but they could not stay there. The story goes that when the Rat Pack played at one of the resorts, Mr. Davis was refused a room there. Frank Sinatra told the hotel owners that if they did not allow Mr. Davis to stay there, he (Sinatra) would not perform. The resort relented and from then on, Sammy Davis could stay at the hotels.
We still miss you, Sammy. RIP.
Great column.
High praise for a crotch grabbing, air humping weirdo.
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor and comedian. He was one of the best known musical artists of the 1950s and 1960s. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made Of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "Mambo Italiano", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That A Kick In The Head?" One of the organizers of "The Rat Pack", he was a major star in four areas of show business: concert stage, recordings, motion pictures, and television.
Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis and Dean Martin were pros. The older I get the more I appreciate those guys.
I absolutely loved Sammy’s voice.
2 clips from my youtubes.
From the Dean Martin celebrity roast of Sammy.
Frank Gorshin entertains as Sammy, Dean and Rickles have a great time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OrE83eKGtk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEtDidm0pRE
I met Sammy once. It was under the grandstand at the Republican National Convention in Miami in 1972. Sammy was there as a Nixon supporter. He seemed very nice and genuine. It was quite a thrill.
I remember a performance in Cleveland in the late '60s, early 70's, Sammy had two shows on a Saturday night, the latter starting at 11. He did the whole thing, talked, danced, sang and chatted ad lib...until 3 AM.
It was the most memorable performance I have ever seen, and while I'm sure some people had to leave, there weren't many who did. He was captivating. My wife and I still talk about it.
PBS played a concert staring Bobby Darin. He could sing,dance,joke,play the harmonica & piano. I was quite impressed with his talent. Much more so than than the”King of Pop.”
Enough of this lazy, oft-repeated but inaccurate meme.