SAMMY DAVIS, JR: MILESTONES OF A LEGEND (10 CDS)

As a singer, dancer and actor Sammy Davis Jr. (1925 1990), a.k.a. "Mr. Show Business", was one of the most charismatic American artists. The child of two dancers, he was born in Harlem, New York, and raised by his father from the age of three, after the couple separated. He made his first appearances as a tap-dance prodigy at the vaudeville shows, at which Sammy Davis Sr. worked. The father-son-duo went on tours across the US with the Will Mastin Trio, interrupted only by Junior's military service. Sammy Davis Jr. met Frank Sinatra in 1941, and the pair enjoyed a lifelong friendship and professional partnership as singers, actors and entertainers. When Dean Martin and a few others joined them in the '50s, they renamed themselves The Rat Pack and appeared together in movies like "Ocean's Eleven", in Las Vegas, and on stages all over the world.

When his debut album "Starring Sammy Davis Jr." was released in 1954 he had already mastered the ups and downs of the life of an entertainer, and was a "young veteran" as an interpreter of jazz and pop songs. Surrounded by the best arrangers and orchestras, he went on to present one successful record after the other, as one can hear on this collection. Highlights were his duets with the jazz singer Carmen McRae and the first album with the Count Basie Orchestra. As an all-round talent and impersonator, he shines most beautifully on his live performances, such as "At Town Hall", which still sounds so fresh and wonderful one feels like booking tickets on the spot.

CD 1

■ STARRING SAMMY DAVIS JR.
1. The Lonesome Road 2.09
(Gene Austin, Nathaniel Shilkret)
2. Hey There (Richard Adler, Jerry Ross) 2.47
3. And This Is My Beloved 2.51
(Robert C. Wright, George Forrest)
4. September Song 2.50
(Maxwell Anderson, Kurt Weill)
5. Because of You 5.26
(Arthur Hammerstein, Dudley Wilkinson)
6. Easy to Love (Cole Porter) 2.23
7. Glad to Be Unhappy 3.03
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
8. Stan' Up an' Fight 4.07
(Georges Bizet, Hammerstein)
9. My Funny Valentine (Hart, Rodgers) 3.06
10. Spoken For (Mickey Rooney) 2.55
11. Birth of the Blues 5.12
(Lew Brown, Buddy DeSylva, Ray Henderson)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Orchestras directed by Morty Stevens
and Sy Oliver
Recorded in 1954

■ JUST FOR LOVERS
12. You Do Something to Me (Cole Porter) 2.18
13. You're My Girl (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) 3.31
14. Come Rain or Come Shine 3.44
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
15. Body and Soul 3.44
(Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton,
Johnny Green)
16. It's All Right with Me (Porter) 6.06
17. Get out of Town (Porter) 2.48
18. These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) 4.05
(Harry Link, Holt Marvell, Jack Strachey)
19. When Your Lover Has Gone 3.13
(Einar Aaron Swan)
20. The Thrill Is Gone 4.20
(Lew Brown, Ray Henderson)
21. Tenderly (Walter Gross, Jack Lawrence) 3.44
22. Happy Ending (Sylvia Fine) 2.39
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Sy Oliver (arranger, conductor)
Recorded on August 15, 1955
Total Time 77.04

CD 2

■ HERE´ S LOOKING AT YOU
1. It Started All over Again 2.47
(Bill Carey, Carl T. Fischer)
2. She Always Knows 2.31
(Imogen Carpenter, Lenny Adelson)
3. Love (Edmund Goulding, Elsie Janis) 2.10
4. A Foggy Day 3.47
(Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin)
5. The Clown (Paul Frees, Ruby Raksin) 3.18
6. Just One of Those Things (Cole Porter) 2.51
7. Don't Let Her Go 2.57
(Aaron Schroeder, Abner Silver)
8. Give a Fool a Chance (Jerry Stevens) 3.02
9. In a Persian Market 2.31
(Albert W. Ketelbey, Mack David)
10. The Nearness of You 3.39
(Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington)
11. The World Is Mine (Tonight) 3.13
(George Posford, Holt Marvell)
12. The Blues to End the Blues 3.16
(Mace Neufeld, Robert Allen, Robert Arthur)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Sy Oliver (arranger, conductor)
Recorded in August 1956

■ IT´S ALL OVER BUT THE SWINGIN´
13. Guess I'll Hang My Tears out to Dry 4.41
(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
14. But Not for Me 3.23
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
15. Where's That Rainbow? 3.27
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
16. I Cover the Waterfront 3.18
(Johnny Green, Edward Heyman)
17. Don't Blame Me 2.51
(Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh)
18. Better Luck Next Time (Irving Berlin) 2.43
19. Can't Help Lovin' Dat Gal 4.52
(Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern)
20. It Never Entered My Mind (Hart, Rodgers) 4.04
21. Someone to Watch over Me 3.23
(G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin)
22. I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face 2.46
(Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe)
23. Spring Is Here (Hart, Rodgers) 4.02
24. I Can't Get Started 3.29
(Vernon Duke, I. Gershwin)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc) D. Lube, M. Sosson (violin)
A. Dinkin, P. Robyn (viola) E. Slatkin (cello)
H. Klee (flute) Harry Edison, C. Gozzo, V. Evans,
M. Klein (tp) Milt Bernhart, F. Howard, G. Roberts
(tb) Harry Klein, Ronnie Lang (as) Babe Russin,
Don Raffell (ts) Bob Lawson (brs) Roger Renner
(p) Tony Rizzi, Bob Bain (g) Mort Cobb,
Joe Comfort (b) Irving Cottler, Alvin Stoller (drs)
Recorded on July 1-2, 9-10, 1957
Total Time 79.04

CD 3

■ SAMMY SWINGS
1. Temptation 2.55
(Nacio Herb Brown, Arthur Freed)
2. The Lady's in Love with You 2.37
(Burton Lane, Frank Loesser)
3. Comes Love (Sam H. Stept) 2.43
4. Don't Get Around Much Anymore 3.25
(Duke Ellington, Bob Russell)
5. That Old Black Magic 2.38
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
6. Oo-Shoo-Be-Doo-Be 2.46
(Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Carroll, Bill Graham)
7. Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter) 3.26
8. By Myself (Arthur Schwartz, Howard Dietz) 2.59
9. The Gypsy in My Soul 2.55
(Clay Boland, Moe Jaffe)
10. Will You Still Be Mine 2.45
(Tom Adair, Matt Dennis)
11. Don'cha Go 'Way Mad 2.47
(Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Mundy, Al Stillman)
12. Perdido (Lost) 2.33
(Juan Tizol, Ervin Drake, Hans Lengsfelder)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Recorded in 1957

■ SAMMY AWARDS
13. Blues in the Night (My Mamma Done 4.16

Tol' Me) (Harry Warren, Johnny Mercer)
14. It's Magic (Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn) 3.26
15. I've Heard That Song Before 3.43
(Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn)
16. Love Letters (Edward Heyman, Victor Young) 4.20
17. Change Partners (Irving Berlin) 2.53
18. For Every Man There's a Woman 4.06
(Harold Arlen, Leo Robin)
19. The Man That Got Away 3.40
(Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin)
20. Lovely to Look At 3.27
(Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields)
21. Too Late Now (Burton Laine, Alan J. Lerner) 3.12
22. I Fall in Love to Easily 2.43
(Jule Styne, Sammy Cahn)
23. Pennies from Heaven 2.27
(Arthur Johnston, Lenny Burke)
24. You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To 3.10
(Cole Porter)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Recorded in 1959
Total Time 77.55

CD 4

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. AND CARMEN McRAE - BOY MEETS GIRL
1. Happy to Make Your Acquaintance 3.51
(Frank Loesser)
2. Tea for Two 2.37
(Irving Caesar, Vincent Youmans)
3. They Didn't Believe Me 2.57
(Jerome Kern, Herbert Reynolds)
4. You're the Top (Cole Porter) 3.05
5. Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin) 4.01
6. Baby, It's Cold Outside (Loesser) 3.14
7. People Will Say We're in Love 3.20
(Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers)
8. There's a Small Hotel (Lorenz Hart, Rodgers) 3.31
9. A Fine Romance (Dorothy Fields, Kern) 2.56
10. The Things We Did Last Summer 3.09
(Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne)
11. Two Sleepy People 2.53
(Hoagy Carmichael, Loesser)
12. Who Cares? (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2.37
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Carmen McRae (voc) Jack Pleis (director)
Recorded on February 18 and 19, 1957

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. AND CARMEN McRAE - PORGY AND BESS
13. Summertime 3.00
14. A Woman Is a Sometime Thing 3.42
15. My Man's Gone Now 4.18
16. I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' 3.30
17. Bess, You Is My Woman Now 4.53
18. It Ain't Necessarily So 3.57
19. I Loves You, Porgy 3.50
20. There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon 4.01
for New York
21. Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess 3.29
22. Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way 2.44
Songs by George Gershwin
Lyris by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc) Carmen McRae (voc)
The Bill Thompson Singers
Buddy Bregman (arranger, conductor)
Jack Pleis, Morty Stevens (conductor)
Recorded in 1959
Total Time 75.01

CD 5

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. - AT TOWN HALL
1. Something's Gotta Give (Johnny Mercer) 2.36
2. And This Is My Beloved 2.23
(Robert Wright, George Forrest)
3. Hey There (Richard Adler, Jerry Ross) 1.49
4. My Funny Valentine 2.26
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
5. It's All Right with Me (Cole Porter) 6.29
6. But Not for Me 3.26
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
7. Ethel, Baby (Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, 2.47
George David Weiss)
8. Too Close for Comfort 1.47
(Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, Weiss)
9. My Heart Is so Full of You (Frank Loesser) 3.37
10. Ol' Man River 4.13
(Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)
11. Chicago (Fred Fisher) 2.16
12. How High the Moon 5.09
(Nancy Hamilton, Morgan Lewis)
13. Impersonations: Nature Boy / Because 3.38
of You (Eden Ahbez) (Arthur Hammerstein,
Dudley Wilkinson)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Morty Stevens (conductor)
Recorded at Town Hall, NYC on May 4, 1958
Total Time 42.39

CD 6

■ I GOTTA RIGHT TO SWING
1. The Lady Is a Tramp 4.23
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
2. I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues 3.04
(Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler)
3. Get on the Right Track Baby 2.45
(Titus Turner, Ray Charles)
4. Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me 3.18
(Duke Ellington, Bob Russell)
5. I Got a Woman (Charles, Renald Richard) 4.30
6. There Is No Greater Love 2.36
(Isham Jones, Marty Symes)
7. Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You 3.51
(Andy Razaf, Don Redman)
8. This Little Girl of Mine (Charles) 2.00
9. Till Then 3.23
(Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus, Guy Wood)
10. Face to Face (Bob Ralske, Ben Weisman) 3.05
11. Mess Around (Ahmet Ertegün) 2.47
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc) George Rhodes (piano)
Sy Oliver, Jack Pleis, Morty Stevens (arr, cond)
The Count Basie Orchestra
Recorded August 15, 1955

■ THE WHAM OF SAM
12. I'm a Fool to Want You 3.31
(Joel Herron, Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf)
13. Back in Your Own Back Yard 2.49
(Dave Dreyer, Al Jolson, Billy Rose)
14. Lush Life (Billy Strayhorn) 3.49
15. I'm Gonna Live Till I Die 3.12
(Mann Curtis, Al Hoffman, Walter Kent)
16. (Love Is) The Tender Trap 2.38
(Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn)
17. Out of This World 3.18
(Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer)
18. Bye Bye Blackbird 2.51
(Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson)
19. Thou Swell (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 3.03
20. Can't We Be Friends? 2.57
(Paul James, Kay Swift)
21. Blame it on My Youth 4.18
(Edward Heyman, Oscar Levant)
22. Let There Be Love (Ian Grant, Lionel Rand) 2.53
23. Soon (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) 2.52
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc) Marty Paich (arr, cond)
Morty Stevens and his orchestra
Recorded on February 6 and 7, 1961
Total Time 73.56

CD 7

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. SINGS WHAT KIND OF FOOL AM I AND OTHER SHOW-STOPPERS
1. What Kind of Fool Am I (Newley, Bricusse) 3.24
2. Once in a Lifetime (Newley, Bricusse) 2.10
3. A Lot of Livin' to Do (Strouse, Adams) 2.46
4. Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter) 4.30
5. Can't We Be Friends (Swift, James) 2.58
6. Something's Coming (Bernstein, Sondheim) 2.46
7. Gonna Build a Mountain (Newley, Bricusse) 2.26
8. Someone Nice Like You (Newley, Bricusse) 2.25
9. Too Close for Comfort 3.02
(Weiss, Bock, Holofcenter)
10. My Romance (Rodgers, Hart) 3.32
11. Thou Swell (Rodgers, Hart) 3.03
12. Lost in the Stars (Weill, Anderson) 4.28
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Marty Paich (arranger, conductor)
Recorded in 1961
Total Time 37.32

CD 8

■ IMPERSONATING
1. That Lucky Old Sun 5.26
(Haven Gillespie, Beasley Smith)
In the style of Raymond Chandler and Frankie Laine
2. Be My Love 3.26
(Nicholas Brodszky, Sammy Cahn)
In the style of Mario Lanza and Louis Armstrong
3. Lulu's Back in Town 2.56
(Al Dubin, Harry Warren)
In the style of Mel Tormé and Jerry Lewis
4. Stranger in Paradise 2.38
(Mel Tormé, Robert Wells) With impersonations
of Tony Bennett (with speech impediments)
and Billy Eckstine
5. Ballerina (Bob Russell, Carl Sigman) 2.56
In the style of Huckleberry Hound, Kingfish
from Amos 'n' Andy and Nat King Cole
6. Sonny Boy (Lew Brown, Buddy DeSylva, 4.00
Ray Henderson, Al Jolson) With impersonations
of Al Jolson (the song's originator),
James Cagney, Bela Lugosi, Jimmy Stewart,
Dean Martin, Edward G. Robinson, Boris Karloff
7. I Married an Angel 1.59
(Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)
8. Falling in Love Again 3.27
(Frederick Hollaender, Sammy Lerner)
9. You Can't Love' Em All 3.08
(Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen)
10. If You Are But a Dream 2.33
(Nat Bonx, Jack Fulton, Moe Jaffe)
11. 'Deed I Do (Walter Hirsch, Fred Rose) 2.12
12. Without a Song 3.42
(Edward Eliscu, Billy Rose, Vincent Youmans)
Sammy Davis, Jr. (voc)
Morty Stevens (arranger, conductor)
Recorded in 1962

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. SINGS THE BIG ONES FOR YOUNG LOVERS
13. Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller) 2.48
14. Don't Shut Me Out (Louis) 2.32
15. Deep Purple (Peter DeRose, Mitchell Parish) 3.11
16. Walk Right In (Gus Cannon, Hosea Woods) 2.46
17. I Left My Heart in San Francisco 2.26
(George Cory, Douglass Cross)
18. Choose (Lionel Bart) 2.52
19. Days of Wine and Roses 2.36
(Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer)
20. Blue Velvet (Lee Morris, Bernie Wayne) 2.47
21. Not for Me (Bobby Darin) 2.55
22. I Wanna Be Around 2.38
(Mercer, Sadie Vimmerstadt)
23. It's All in the Game 3.00
(Charles G. Dawes, Carl Sigman)
24. Fools Rush In (Rube Bloom, Mercer) 2.45
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Jimmie Haskell (arranger, conductor)
Recorded in 1962
Total Time 71.43

CD 9

■ SAMMY DAVIS JR. BELTS THE BEST OF BROADWAY
1. Too Close for Comfort 3.02
(Jerry Bock, George David Weiss, Larry Holofcener)
2. My Romance 3.32
(Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)
3. We Kiss in a Shadow 3.18
(Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II)
4. Two Ladies in De Shade of 2.59
De Banana Tree
(Harold Arlen, Truman Capote)
5. Lost in the Stars 4.27
(Kurt Weill, Maxwell Anderson)
6. Falling in Love with Love 2.27
(Rodgers, Hart)
7. Climb Ev'ry Mountain 3.20
(Rodgers, Hammerstein)
8. Something's Coming 2.47
(Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim)
9. That-Great-Come-and-Get-it-Day 2.42
(Burton Lane, Yip Harburg)
10. If I Loved You (Rodgers, Hammerstein) 3.57
11. A Lot of Livin' to Do 2.45
(Charles Strouse, Lee Adams)
12. There is Nothing Like a Dame 2.37
(Rodgers, Hammerstein)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc)
Marty Paich (arranger)
Recorded in 1962
Total Time 38.15

CD 10

■ MOOD TO BE WOOED
1. What Is There to Say? 3.40
(Vernon Duke, E. Y. "Yip" Harburg)
2. Why Shouldn't I? (Moss Hart, Cole Porter) 4.06
3. Love Me (Ned Washington, Victor Young) 3.18
4. Bewitched (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) 4.26
5. I Could Have Told You 3.55
(Jimmy Van Heusen, Carl Sigman)
6. For All We Know 3.49
(J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis)
7. Deep in a Dream 4.04
(Van Heusen, Eddie DeLange)
8. I Get Along Without You Very Well 3.29
(Hoagy Carmichael, Jane Brown Thompson)
9. Mam'selle (Edmund Goulding, Mack Gordon) 2.47
10. Try a Little Tenderness 4.11
(Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, Harry M. Woods)
11. This Love of Mine 3.31
(Frank Sinatra, Henry Sanicola, Sol Parker)
12. I've Got a Crush on You 3.00
(George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)
Sammy Davis Jr. (voc) Mundell Lowe (git)
Recorded in 1962
Total Time 44.17