Early life
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. was born in New York City, New York to Elvera Sanchez (1905-2000)[1], a Puerto Rican tap dancer, and Sammy Davis, Sr. (1900-1988), an African-American entertainer. The couple were both dancers in vaudeville. As an infant, he was raised by his paternal grandmother. When he was three years old, his parents split up. His father, not wanting to lose custody of his son, took him on tour. During his lifetime Sammy Davis, Jr. stated that his mother was Puerto Rican and born in San Juan.[2] As a child he learned how to dance from his father and his "uncle" Will Mastin, who led the dance troupe his father worked for. Davis joined the act as a young child and they became the Will Mastin Trio. Throughout his long career, Davis included the Will Mastin Trio in his billing.
Mastin and his father had shielded him from racism. Snubs were explained as jealousy, for instance. When Davis served in the United States Army during World War II however, he was confronted by strong racial prejudice. As he said later, "Overnight the world looked different. It wasn't one color anymore. I could see the protection I'd gotten all my life from my father and Will. I appreciated their loving hope that I'd never need to know about prejudice and hate, but they were wrong. It was as if I'd walked through a swinging door for eighteen years, a door which they had always secretly held open."
Career
While in the service, however, he joined an integrated entertainment Special Services unit, and found that the spotlight removed some of the prejudice. "My talent was the weapon, the power, the way for me to fight. It was the one way I might hope to affect a man's thinking," he said.[3]
Sammy Davis, Jr. (left) with Roy Wilkins (right) at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C.
After he was discharged, Davis rejoined the dance act which played at a wide variety of spots around Portland Oregon, and began to achieve success on his own as he was singled out for praise by critics. The next year, he released his second album. The next move in his growing career was to appear in the Broadway show Mr. Wonderful in 1956.
In 1959, he became a member of the Rat Pack, which was led by his old friend Frank Sinatra, and included such fellow performers as Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Shirley MacLaine. Initially, Sinatra called the gathering of fast-living friends "the Clan," but Sam voiced his opposition, saying that it invoked thoughts about the Ku Klux Klan. Sinatra renamed the group "the Summit"...but nevertheless, the media kept on calling it the Rat Pack all along.
Davis was a headliner at The Frontier Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada for many years, yet was required to accept accommodations in a rooming house on the west side of the city, rather than reside with his peers in the hotels, as were all black performers in the 1950s. For example, no stage dressing rooms were provided for black performers, so they were required to wait outside by the swimming pool between acts. [4]
During his early years in Las Vegas, he and other African-American artists like Nat King Cole and Count Basie could entertain on the stage, but often could not reside at the hotels at which they performed, and most definitely could not gamble in the casinos or go to the hotel restaurants and bars. After he achieved superstar success, Davis refused to work at venues which would practice racial segregation. His demands eventually led to the integration of Miami Beach nightclubs and Las Vegas casinos. Davis was particularly proud of this accomplishment. [5]
Although James Brown would claim the title of "Hardest Working Man in Show Business," the argument could be made that Sammy Davis, Jr. deserved it more. For example, in 1964 he was starring in Golden Boy at night and shooting his own New York-based afternoon talk show during the day. When he could get a day off from the theater, he would either be in the studio recording new songs, or else performing live, often at charity benefits as far away as Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas, or doing television variety specials in Los Angeles. Even at the time, Sam knew he was cheating his family of his company, but he couldn't help himself; as he later said, he was incapable of standing still.
Although still a huge draw in Las Vegas, Davis' musical career had sputtered out by the latter years of the 1960s, although he had a #11 hit (#1 on the Easy Listening singles chart) with "I've Gotta Be Me" in 1969. An attempt to update his sound and reconnect with younger people resulted in some embarrassing "hip" musical efforts with the Motown record label.[6] But then, even as his career seemed at its nadir, Sammy had an unexpected worldwide smash hit with "Candy Man". Although he didn't particularly care for the song and was chagrined that he was now best known for it, Davis made the most of his new opportunity and revitalized his career. Although he enjoyed no more Top 40 hits, he did enjoy some extra popularity with his performance of the theme song from the T.V. series Baretta (1975-1978) which was not released as a single but was given extensive radio play and he remained a successful live act beyond Vegas for the remainder of his career. He would still occasionally land television and film parts, including high profile visits to the All in the Family series playing himself. In the 1970s, he also appeared in a series of memorable commercials in Japan for Suntory whiskey.
On December 11, 1967, NBC broadcast a musical-variety special entitled Movin' With Nancy. In addition to the Emmy Award-winning musical performances, the show is famous for Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. greeting each other with a kiss, one of the first black-white kisses in U.S. television history.[7]
In Japan, Davis appeared in television commercials for coffee, and in the U.S. he joined Sinatra and Martin in a radio commercial for a Chicago car dealership.
Davis was one of the first male celebrities to admit to watching television soap operas, particularly the shows produced by the American Broadcasting Company. This admission led to him making a cameo appearance on General Hospital and playing the recurring character Chip Warren on One Life to Live for which he received a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1980. He was also a game show fan, making a cameo on the ABC version of Family Feud in 1979, and hosting a question with Richard Dawson watching from the sidelines. He appeared on Tattletales with third wife Altovise Davis in the 1970s. He also made a cameo during an episode of the NBC version of Card Sharks in 1981.
Davis was an avid photographer who enjoyed shooting family and acquaintances. His body of work was detailed in a 2007 book by Burt Boyar. "Jerry [Lewis] gave me my first important camera, my first 35 millimeter, during the Ciro's period, early '50s," Boyar quotes Davis. "And he hooked me." Davis used a medium format camera later on to capture images. Again quoting Davis, "Nobody interrupts a man taking a picture to ask... 'What's that nigger doin' here?' ". His catalogue of photos include rare shots of his father dancing onstage as part of the Will Mastin Trio. Also, intimate snapshots of close friends: Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Nat "King" Cole and Marilyn Monroe. His political affiliations also were represented in his images of: Robert Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. His most revealing work comes in photographs of wife May Britt and their three children, Tracey, Jeff and Mark.
(Credit Wikipidia.org)
Begin The Beguine
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It brings back the sound of music so tender,
It brings back a night of tropical splendour,
It brings back a memory evergreen.
I'm with you once more under the stars,
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
And even the palms seem to be swaying
To live it again is past all endeavour,
Except when that tune clutches my heart,
And there we are, swearing to love forever,
And promising never, never to part.
What moments divine, what rapture serene,
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
I know but too well what they mean;
So don't let them begin the beguine
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember;
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
When they begin the beguine.
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
Till the stars that were there before return above you,
Till you whisper to me once more,
"Darling, I love you!"
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in,
When they begin the beguine
The song "Begin The Beguine" by Sammy Davis Jr. is a romantic ballad that speaks about the power of music to evoke strong emotions and memories. The song starts by talking about how the sound of the beguine, a dance style popular in the 1930s, reminds the singer of a beautiful and unforgettable night in a warm and tropical setting. The lyrics describe how the music brings back memories of being with someone special under the stars, listening to the music of an orchestra and feeling the rhythm of the palms swaying in the breeze.
The second verse talks about how the singer wishes to relive those moments of pure joy and love forever but how it is impossible except for when he hears the beguine tune, which has the power to transport him back to that time. He is aware that those moments were brief and temporary and when the memories begin to fade, it hurts him deeply. He implores the listener to not let the beguine begin again as it will only bring back painful memories of the cherished moments that have passed, but then he changes his mind and says, "Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play", showing how he wants to relive the moments once again.
The song is a beautiful tribute to the power of music and how it can evoke strong emotions and memories. It speaks about the universal experience of cherishing those moments where we felt loved and wanted and how the memories of these times can be triggered by simple things like a melody or a tune. The song has been covered by many artists and has remained one of Sammy Davis Jr.'s most iconic songs.
Line by Line Meaning
When they begin the beguine
The start of the beguine, ignites memories of melodious music that holds a special place in my heart.
It brings back the sound of music so tender,
The beguine takes me back to a time when music was calm and had a loving touch.
It brings back a night of tropical splendour,
The beguine takes me back to a night filled with hazy memories of the tropical weather.
It brings back a memory evergreen.
The beguine takes me back to a timeless memory which remains evergreen.
I'm with you once more under the stars,
The beguine takes me back to a time when I was with my loved one, staring at the stars.
And down by the shore an orchestra's playing
The beguine takes me back to a time when we were near the beach, and an orchestra played music.
And even the palms seem to be swaying
The beguine takes me back to a time when even the wind seemed to make the palm trees sway in rhythm.
When they begin the beguine.
The start of the beguine sets my mind going back in time to my dear moments.
To live it again is past all endeavour,
It is impossible to relive those moments again.
Except when that tune clutches my heart,
However, whenever I hear that tune, it brings back those memories and touches my heart.
And there we are, swearing to love forever,
In those memories, we swear eternal love to one another.
And promising never, never to part.
We promise to never, ever part from each other.
What moments divine, what rapture serene,
Those moments were glorious and full of serenity.
Till clouds came along to disperse the joys we had tasted,
But like clouds in the sky, those joys were dispersed and became a thing of the past.
And now when I hear people curse the chance that was wasted,
And now, when I hear others regret the lost opportunities of their pasts,
I know but too well what they mean;
I completely understand what they are feeling.
So don't let them begin the beguine
Therefore, I don't want to hear the beguine again, as it will only lead to longing and regret.
Let the love that was once a fire remain an ember;
Let our love that once burned hot, now be a warm ember that we can still feel.
Let it sleep like the dead desire I only remember
Let that feeling be a distant memory which does not affect me anymore.
When they begin the beguine.
If I hear the beguine, again those feelings will come rushing back.
Oh yes, let them begin the beguine, make them play
But then again, let the beguine start, and let the music play.
Till the stars that were there before return above you,
Let the music play until the stars come out again to light up the night sky.
Till you whisper to me once more, "Darling, I love you!"
Let the music play until we can once again whisper to each other, "My darling, I love you!"
And we suddenly know, what heaven we're in,
When we say those words, we realize that we are in a special place, a heavenly realm.
When they begin the beguine.
All of this happens when the beguine starts to play.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Cole Porter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alvaro Jr.
A musicalidade dele era monstruosa nessa linda música! E o arranjo da orquestra sensacional! Descanse em paz Sammy...
Jerry Mariano
He is pure class and talent.
John Lewis
The ultimate entertainer.
carrottoponcrak
Wow, a masterclass on Rubato. He sings so almost lazily but always ends up right on time. A master musician
Yolanda Fernandez
Vá por tí PAPÁ! CUÁNTAS VECES ME HAS PUESTO ESTA CANCIÓN Y LA HE ESCUCHADO DE PEQUEÑA!!!! ADEMÁS JUNTO A LA VOZ, INATRA, THE HILOS, ETC, ETC... ❤
Soraia Santos
Classe, talento, perfeição. Nada a adicionar!
Valerie Craft Kitover
Sing it Sammy....Show us how it’s done! Class....Timing....Gracious..
Alice Luscher silva
Maravilhoso cantor❤
poppahonda
WHAT AN AWESOME ARRANGEMENT!!! Talk about in snyc with the band, Sammy made that song his own. What a talent.
Joey Canady
I was introduced to SDJ in the late 60’s. Spent the time since then wanting to be him 😂. What a talent!