The consummate entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. would be celebrating his 95th birthday today. "I Gotta Be Me" is from the Broadway musical Golden Rainbow, which starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. Lawrence released it as a single in 1967, and it reached #6 on the Easy Listening chart, but it failed to chart on the Hot 100. Davis released it the following year, and it reached #11 on the Hot 100, and spent seven weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart.
I remember reading his biography, “Yes I Can,” and learning about the accident where he lost his eye. Great story. Wonderful singer.
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Never read the book. I probably should, one of these days…
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Sammy was a fabulous entertainer in his day!
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He was the consummate entertainer. He danced, sang, told jokes, acted, could even do cowboy gun tricks. And he could laugh at himself. Shocked the heck out of me to know he was only 65 when he died. He had cancer of the larynx, and was told that they could try surgery, but it would leave him unable to sing. He turned it down. He said he didn’t want to live if he couldn’t sing.
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Hi John – one of the best – and this song is so appropriate for right now … we need uniqueness in life. Stay safe – Hilary
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Be nice not to run around with our faces covered, wouldn’t it?
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What a great entertainer Sammy was 💜
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He was. I admire him tremendously. He went through some awful times, and Frank Sinatra, to his eternal credit, went to bat for him, but he always gave a tremendous performance, and always looked like he was having the time of his life.
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Yes they don’t make them like that anymore, a singer a dancer an actor a nice person.💜
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