Five Video Clips of Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. was a tragic figure in many ways. Enormously talented as an actor, singer, dancer, musician, comedian and entertainer, he was born too soon in segregated America to be taken seriously as a powerhouse artist. So he worked doubly hard to stand out and often poked fun at himself to minimize hate as he rose to become a crossover star.

As frustrating as it must have been, Sammy spent a great deal of time on TV trying to avoid seeming like a threat to program sponsors and white living-room audiences. And it worked until the late 1960s and beyond, when Sammy became a cartoonish figure, a parody of himself as he tried to remain with-it and relevant to the counterculture and black power movement. For Sammy, silly was safe. But silly ended when it was time to sing.

Deep down and off-stage, Sammy was a serious and demanding professional who rehearsed tirelessly and made sure there would never be any room for error. He couldn't afford to be anything less than astonishing. The stakes were too high and the ice was too thin. Looking back now, his sense of swing when singing was virtually unrivaled and his ability to improvise vocally was widely envied by his peers. All of the other stuff can be forgiven, and he should be viewed today as a jazz singer rather than a Rat Pack hanger-on.

Let's listen to five extraordinary live performances:

Here's Sammy on TV's Colgate Comedy Hour, being introduced by singer Connie Russell in 1954, singing Hey There...



Here's Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich drumming behind Sammy on Cute...



Here's Sammy and Carmen McRae singing a Funny Girl medley...



Here's Sammy on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in December 1973 singing In the Still of the Night. Note Sammy's incredible time and swing. Skip over the junk to Louie Bellson. and the Tonight Show band. The clip below hasn't been removed. Simply click “Watch on YouTube" in the video box...

 

And here's Sammy on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 singing What Kind of Fool Am I?...