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)
Macarthur Park
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It ran one step ahead
As we followed in the dance
Between the parted pages and were pressed
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers by the trees
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
There will be another song for me
For I will sing it
There will be another dream for me
Someone will bring it
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
You'll still be the one
I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!
Oh, no
No, no
Oh no!!
The lyrics to Sammy Davis Jr.'s song Macarthur Park are poetic and soulful, with subtle references to love, memories, and the sweetness of life. The song opens with a longing for a past love that was never quite fully realized. The line "Spring was never waiting for us, girl" suggests that time moved too quickly for the characters in the song, and they were never able to fully enjoy the love they shared. The next line "It ran one step ahead, as we followed in the dance" could be interpreted as an acknowledgment of life's fleeting nature, and the way that we are all caught up in a constant motion that we can never truly control.
The chorus of the song brings in the metaphor of a melting park and a cake left out in the rain. These images could be interpreted as signifiers of the impermanence of life's pleasures. Just as a cake left out in the rain will eventually dissolve, so too will time and circumstance dissolve the things we hold dear. The line "I don't think that I can take it" suggests that this realization is difficult to bear. The final verses of the song offer a glimmer of hope, as the singer asserts that there will be more songs and dreams to come, and that their love will always endure.
Line by Line Meaning
Spring was never waiting for us, girl
We were always chasing after Spring, which always remained one step ahead of us.
It ran one step ahead
Spring never came into our lives when we wanted it to; it always appeared just out of reach.
As we followed in the dance
We followed Spring, moving and adapting to its rhythms and pace.
Between the parted pages and were pressed
We found ourselves ensconced in between the folds of a passionate love affair, like a book.
In love's hot, fevered iron
Our love burned hot and fiercely, stronger than the toughest steel.
Like a striped pair of pants
Our love was vibrant, colorful, and distinctive like a pair of pants with bold stripes.
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
The world around us is changing rapidly and irrevocably, like MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark.
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
The good things in life are disappearing, and we are left with the gooey mess that once seemed sweet and desirable.
Someone left the cake out in the rain
Someone made a grave mistake that resulted in the ruin of something sweet and lovely.
I don't think that I can take it
This turn of events is too much to bear, it's too hard to process.
'Cause it took so long to bake it
The effort we put into making these good things in life was not insignificant.
And I'll never have that recipe again
Whatever secret formulas we once had to make things work are now gone forever.
I recall the yellow cotton dress
I remember you in that sunny yellow cotton dress.
Foaming like a wave
The fabric of the dress resembled waves crashing on the shore.
On the ground around your knees
The dress pooled around your knees as you walked and moved.
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
The birds were so trusting that they let you hold them like newborns in your hands.
And the old men playing checkers by the trees
The world was still carrying on around us, oblivious to our love affair.
There will be another song for me
Life goes on, and I will find new things to enjoy and sing about.
For I will sing it
I will not let myself be silenced, even in the face of loss and heartache.
There will be another dream for me
I will still dream and have hope for the future.
Someone will bring it
Someone will come into my life and help me realize this dream.
I will drink the wine while it is warm
I will live in the moment and take pleasure in the good things as they come.
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
I will not dwell on past regrets, but rather remain focused on moving forward.
And after all the loves of my life
After all the good things and loves I have experienced in my life.
You'll still be the one
You will always have a special place in my heart.
I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I am in control of my own life, and I will make the most of it.
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
People's admiration will come and go, but I will not let it define me.
I will have the things that I desire
I will not compromise on the things that matter most to me.
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky
I will be passionate about my life and my work, and it will show in everything I do.
And after all the loves of my life
After all the joy and pain I have experienced in life.
I'll be thinking of you
You will continue to be a part of my life, even as I move forward.
And wondering why
I will always be curious about what might have been.
No, no
This is not what I wanted, and I refuse to accept it.
Oh no!!
This is a total disaster, and the reality is too much to bear.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Webb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind