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)
Jingle Bells
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a one-horse open sleigh
Through the fields we go
Laughing all the way
Bells on bob-tail ring
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing
A sleighing song tonight
Oh, Jingle bells, jing-jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh, everybody
Jingle bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
Jing-jing-jingle in the morning
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
Jing-jing-jingle in the evening
And may I say
Gee, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
A one-horse open sleigh
Jing-jing-jingle in the evening
Jing-jing-jingle in the morning
Jingle, jingle, jingle
"Jingle Bells" is a classic Christmas song that is easily recognizable by millions of people around the world. The song is uptempo and uses vivid imagery of riding in a one-horse open sleigh through the snow. The first stanza of the song describes the experience of riding on a horse-drawn sleigh through the snow, with the sound of the bells ringing in the background. The lyrics describe the riders laughing and singing, enjoying the moment of the experience. They are free, enjoying the ride and each other's company.
The second stanza of the song introduces Miss Fanny Bright, who accompanies the singer on a ride in the snow. Unfortunately, their horse gets stuck in the snow and they take a tumble, highlighting the unpredictability of life, and how misfortune can happen to anyone. The third and final stanza encourages people to take advantage of the snowy season and get a horse with a good speed and hitch it to an open sleigh to create their own experience. The song ultimately conveys the joy and excitement of winter and the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
Dashing through the snow
Moving quickly through the snow
On a one-horse open sleigh,
Traveling on a sled pulled by a single horse with no cover
Over the fields we go,
Crossing large open areas
Laughing all the way;
Enjoying the ride with amusement
Bells on bob-tail ring,
The bells attached to the short tail of the horse on the sled are making sounds
making spirits bright,
Bringing joy and happiness
What fun it is to ride and sing
Expressing delight in both riding and singing together
A sleighing song tonight
A song that accompanies this ride on a sled
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
The sound of the bells attached to the horse's tail
jingle all the way!
The sound is continuous throughout the journey
O what fun it is to ride
This experience is highly enjoyable
In a one-horse open sleigh
On a sled pulled by a single horse with no cover
A day or two ago,
A story from a recent past
I thought I'd take a ride,
I decided to go for a ride
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
A lady named Fanny Bright joined the ride
Was seated by my side;
She sat next to me during the ride
The horse was lean and lank;
The horse was skinny and bony
Misfortune seemed his lot;
The horse appeared unlucky
He got into a drifted bank,
The horse slid into a snowdrift
And we, we got upsot.
We also fell off the sled
Now the ground is white
The snow has covered the ground
Go it while you're young,
Take advantage of youth and health while you can
Take the girls tonight
Invite the ladies to come along this evening
And sing this sleighing song;
Also perform the song that goes with the ride
Just get a bob-tailed bay
Find a horse with a naturally short tail
two-forty as his speed
The horse should be fast
Hitch him to an open sleigh
Attach the horse to a sled with no cover
And crack! you'll take the lead.
You will be in first place with speed and style
Lyrics © CONSALAD CO., Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: James Lord Pierpont
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Omar_Hassan
Merry Christmas 🎄 2023 🎉
@shawnmalone9711
Merry Christmas 2023!
@evestabile9395
The Rat Pack gave a special magic on Christmas! 🎄⛄❤️
@shawnmalone9711
Merry Christmas 2022! ⛄️🎄🎁 🎅
@shawnmalone9711
Merry Christmas 2020! 🎄🎄🎅🎅🎁🎁
@austinpowers3542
No dislikes cause there is nothing to not like about this song!
@LindaJoy109
The best of the best. It really is Merry Christmas when you listen to the rat pack. Makes you want to go back in time, love it
@LindaJoy109
Love my rat pack they were the best in everything. Their singing makes you feel so good inside and happy.
@RETROGEMS
GREAT version! Love Sammy. ;-)
@lindsaycrawford2433
One of the best versions ever!