Two Singers Who Sang!
“Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis, Jr. #jammin #SOULmusic #beautifulisBLACK”…On this last day of #BlackHistoryMonth celebrate everyday for the contributions that all people have made to Society! Curated by @necessaryblackness
Sammy Davis Jr. who was affectionately nicknamed Mr. Entertainment, or Mr. Bojangles was a musical icon and a legend. As an entertainer, his career spanned from childhood and Vaudeville to modern times of entertainment. He made friends from all races of people, and he was loved by all of them.
Many people associate Sammy Davis Jr. with the Rat Pack musical group, an unassuming name coined by the media or Lauren Bacall, to describe this group of profound entertainers, who were of course Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, and yes, they basically ran the Las Vegas casino circuit with their musical numbers.
And yes, Sammy Davis Jr. was the one and only black guy of the group. But that didn’t matter much. He was ultimately respected among the other members of the Rat Pack as one of the guys of the group. Even if outsiders disagreed.
The Rat Pack went on to make a plethora album releases and compilations, along with a series of Motion Pictures from 1947 to 1984. One of the films being Ocean’s 11, as to which the re-boot, and sequels with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bernie Mac, Bradd Pitt, Don Cheadle and many other countless stars were featured was a big success. This was a great time in the Golden years of good old-fashioned entertainment.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Nat King Cole was an American jazz musician, recording over some one hundred hit Jazz songs which also topped the pop charts. Nat King Cole’s jazz trio at the time was a staple for other Jazz Musicians to mold their craft, which in turn helped to cultivate the jazz genre. As an accomplished actor, Nat King Cole also acted in many films and television programs, and even performed on the Broadway stage. In fact, Nat King Cole has two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for music, and the other for his contributions to Motion Pictures and TV.
The relationship between Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole was an ironic one. They had fun times creating material on stage a film, with small skits, like the time the put on a show about the days of silent movies, when Nat King Cole played the part of the Bartender and Sammy Davis Jr. played the part of the patron of the bar, who resembled Charlie Chaplin.
Cole served up shots of Sammy’s favorite liquor and after a couple of shots, Sammy decides to leave without paying. Cole then stops him and now Sammy is forced to search his own person for payment. He pays for his shots, but he still wants more, and they now are in a fighting stance because Cole doesn’t want to go back and forth with Sammy refusing to pay, but now drunk Sammy wants even more.
More skits like these and stories of the Rat Pack can be found on Sammysbook.com a memoir by Arthur Silber, Jr., son of of both Sammy Davis Jr. and Nat King Cole’s Manager Arthur Silber, Sr. to say the least. When Nat King Cole passed away on February 15, 1965, Sammy Davis Jr., recorded an album in his very good friends’ tribute. Bonding their friendship for eternity. Black Stars Who Still Shine! Nat King Cole’s Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Star of Sammy Davis Jr on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Born to a Puerto Rican Mother and an African-American father, Sammy Davis Jr., was an avid tap dancer. This is something that the modern day tap dancing siblings Chloe and Maud, who were mentored by none other than Debbie Allen can definitely appreciate. Mr. Show Business lost his eye in a car accident and then converted over to Judaism, which made for a very interesting mix of cultures. He was half Puerto Rican, and half African-American, Jewish and his some of his best friends, fellow entertainers were Caucasian. One top of that there were still moments where they wouldn’t let Sammy into certain venues to perform. Due to certain “Jim Crow laws” that eventually became null and void.