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)
You're Gonna Love Yourself
Sammy Davis Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I guess that's why you think I'm gonna use you.
You say you'll hate yourself in the morning,
Cause you'll wake up and find me gone.
But if you give me just one more chance,
I can prove you wrong.
You're gonna love yourself in the morning,
Cause I'm gonna love you all night long.
You're gonna love yourself in the morning,
And every morning from now on.
I know what you're thinking I don't blame you,
It's gonna take a whole lot of love just to change you.
When you wake up in the morning, you're gonna feel like a different girl.
And you will see that it can be such a beautiful world
[Chorus]
You're gonna love yourself in the morning,
Cause I'm gonna love you all night long.
You're gonna love yourself in the morning,
And every morning from now on.
The lyrics of Sammy Davis Jr.'s "You're gonna love yourself in the morning" is a song about encouraging someone who has been hurt in the past to take a chance on love again. The song is sung from the perspective of someone who is trying to earn the trust of a person who has been abused before. The first stanza acknowledges the hurt that the person has gone through and expresses empathy for their fear of being used again. However, the singer is committed to proving the person wrong and winning their love.
The chorus is the heart of the song and it tells the audience that if the person gives them one more chance, they will love them all night long. The singer expresses optimism that their love will change the person's self-perception and help them to see the beauty in the world. The second stanza is an affirmation of the singer's commitment to loving the person wholeheartedly even though they have their doubts. The goal of the song is to reassure the person that they can trust in the love that the singer has for them and that it will heal their wounds and transform their life.
Overall, "You're gonna love yourself in the morning" is a feel-good song about the power of love to transform hearts and minds. By refusing to let past hurts dictate the future, the singer inspires hope and the possibility of a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Heaven knows that someone has abused you,
You've been mistreated in the past and are afraid it will happen again.
I guess that's why you think I'm gonna use you.
You might be skeptical of me because of your past experiences.
You say you'll hate yourself in the morning,
You're worried about how you'll feel once the night is over.
Cause you'll wake up and find me gone.
You're afraid that I won't stick around.
But if you give me just one more chance,
I'm asking for a chance to prove myself to you.
I can prove you wrong.
I believe I can change your mind about me.
You're gonna love yourself in the morning,
You'll wake up feeling great about yourself.
Cause I'm gonna love you all night long.
I'm going to show you how much I care about you throughout the night.
And every morning from now on.
I want to be there for you every day.
I know what you're thinking I don't blame you,
I understand your reservations and don't hold them against you.
It's gonna take a whole lot of love just to change you.
You've been through a lot, and it will take a lot of care and attention to help you heal.
When you wake up in the morning, you're gonna feel like a different girl.
You'll wake up feeling transformed and rejuvenated.
And you will see that it can be such a beautiful world
You'll realize that life can be wonderful and fulfilling.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DONNIE FRITTS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Leonardo Cuéllar
sadly most people don't appreciate this beautiful music, thanks for watching!
Ryan Devlin
amazing song!
Peter Grabowski
Been looking for this for age's.......great song :)