54 Years Ago Today, Sammy Davis Jr. Hit No. 1 for the Only Time With a Song He Believed Would Ruin His Career

On this day (June 10) in 1972, Sammy Davis Jr. started a three-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Candy Man.” It was his only No. 1 single and his first top 10 hit since 1955. The song was also his last to reach the top 10. It later became his signature song and gave the Rat Pack member his nickname. However, he had no interest in recording it. In fact, he hated the song at first.

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“The Candy Man” was originally written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In the film, Aubrey Woods, who plays the candy store owner, performs the song. Newley famously hated his take on the song. He believed that Woods’ performance would stop him and his co-writer from getting an Oscar nomination and rob them of a hit single.

According to Songfacts, Newley did everything he could to change the version of “The Candy Man” that appeared in the film. He offered to rearrange and rerecord the song himself for free. He even offered to pay for the studio time. However, contracts between Woods and the film studio kept him from doing so. As a result, he recorded a version of the song for his 1971 album Pure Imagination, which didn’t become a hit.

Sammy Davis Jr. Didn’t Want to Record “The Candy Man”

Mike Curb, head of MGM Records at the time, recorded the instrumental for “The Candy Man” with the Mike Curb Congregation and brought it to Sammy Davis Jr. All he needed to do was record the lead vocal. He did so in two takes, but wasn’t happy about it.

“It’s horrible. It’s a timmy-two-shoes, it’s white bread, cute-ums. There’s no romance,” he told his manager. After recording the final take and listening to the playback, his opinion didn’t change.

“This record is going straight into the toilet,” Davis said after hearing his sole No. 1. “Not just around the rim, but into the bowl, and it may just pull my whole career down with it.”

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