Sammy Davis Jr. - The Wham Of Sam

I have 39 albums by Frank Sinatra. Although, technically, since one of them is a French box set with three disks, and another is a box set with six disks, I guess I really have 47 Sinatra albums. Which seems about right, no?  I also have 15 Dean Martin albums. And while I do enjoy listening to a little Deano from time to time, the real reason I have so many of his albums is because I keep finding NM copies in thrift stores for $1 apiece. And so, why not?

But until recently, I never gave much thought to the third key member of the Rat Pack - Sammy Davis Jr. Pound for pound, Davis was by far the most talented member of the group. He began performing in Vaudeville at the age of three. A consummate entertainer, Davis was a terrific dancer, a star on Broadway, a natural comedian, and one of the best impersonators in the business. And, as one reviewer famously put it, "he could sing his ass off." 

As luck would have it, a few months ago I stumbled across a couple of Davis's albums at a used record store and thought I'd see what all the fuss was about. 

The first LP I bought is a superb NM copy of The Sounds of '66, a live date recorded in Las Vegas, where Davis is backed by the Buddy Rich Orchestra. Holy Toledo, what a fantastic session. Rich and his band burn the house down, playing charts by George Rhodes and Ernie Freeman. Davis shows his amazing jazz vocal chops, matching the high-powered band note for note. 

The album opens with a spoken introduction by Davis. He says that it's 5:15 in the morning, and anybody listening to the record at home should know that he's in a room full of musicians, artists, friends, and family in the Copa Room of the Sands Hotel in Los Vegas where they are recording a live session. Apparently, after Sammy finished his regular show at the Sands that evening, he and Rich's band gathered for the recording session. The Sands Hotel was, of course, the clubhouse for the Rat Pack, where Frank, Dean, and Sammy headlined the bill -- individually and collectively -- throughout much of the 1960s.

The album's liner notes provide more details about the session: "By two o'clock, the lounge was jammed. People stacked up so high nobody could read the "Capacity" signs. Waitresses immobilized between stuck together tables. In a town where nothing distracts the hot roller, hot rollers got distracted . . . This was full-steam, all the way. No let up. Rhodes and Freeman alternated conducting the main Rich orchestra. Ernie Freeman got so wound up in the tempo of one number his arms flew out and his wrist watch sailed half way across the stage."  Too bad nobody had an iPhone to record the moment on video. 

This has to be one of the hottest, swinging-est vocal recordings I've ever heard. Every arrangement is fantastic, and the fever pitch never stops. On the closing number, Buddy Rich gives a drumming clinic that will take away whatever is left of your breath, with Sammy killing the lyrics. Just wow.

The other album I picked up at the same time is Davis's first recording for the newly-formed Reprise label, a 1961 release called The Wham of Sam. (Is that a great title or what?) Even compared to the amazing performance on The Sounds of '66, this is still an extremely strong outing. Since it's a studio recording, it lacks some of the heat of the live session. But not much. Davis is backed by a who's who of the West Coast's top session men, including Shelly Mann, Bud Shank, Mel Lewis, and Tony Rizzi. The arrangements, by long-time collaborators Marty Paich and Morty Stevens, are on a par with anything Nelson Riddle ever did for Sinatra. Plus, the blue cover photo of Davis holding a legendary Shure Unidyne microphone is a stone classic. My copy is the original 1961 mono version, just a couple of ticks away from NM, with a big fat lush mono sound.

In addition to the great performances on these two albums, as a collector I always enjoy seeing the artwork on the early Reprise labels. Frank Sinatra formed Reprise Records in 1960 in order to give himself more artistic freedom for his recordings, bringing along his Rat Pack buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. By 1963, Sinatra was tired of running a record label and sold Reprise to Warner Brothers. The label flourished well into the 1980s and was home to such mega stars as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, and Frank Zappa, just to name a few.

The label on The Wham of Sam (left top) with the blue/orange/green design is one of several different color schemes for Reprise's famous "Steamboat" label. Named, obviously for the steamboat in the top left corner. My copy is a deep groove version, pressed by Columbia Records at their Terre Haute, IN plant. 

My copy of The Sounds of '66 (at left), is the same design with a different color scheme. This green/pink/yellow version of the Steamboat label was used by Reprise from 1963-1968. I've also seen gray/pink/yellow and green/blue/yellow versions. Sinatra's early Reprise albums are unique in that the steamboat is replaced by a photo of Frank in the top left corner. My copy of The Sounds of '66 was also pressed by Columbia Records, but this one at their Pittman, NJ plant.=

Since my earlier score, I've picked up another half dozen of Davis's LPs -- all from the 1960s. All the albums are strong, with great charts and superb performances. However, perhaps owing to his early days in Vaudeville, Davis had a tendency to include a song or two that were a little schmaltzy or overly dramatic. Given the high quality of his albums, those occasional clunkers stick out. But, oh my, what a voice.

If your only memory of Sammy Davis is his embarrassingly saccharine 1972 hit "The Candy Man," you owe it to yourself to give a listen to some of his 1960s Reprise albums.

Enjoy the music!