He Was The Hippest Jew To Ever Work In Show Business

As a child I was totally enamored of “The Rat Pack”, which was led by his old friend Frank Sinatra, & included such fellow performers Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, & Shirley MacLaine. Sammy Davis Jr started in vaudeville at age 3 & despite the barriers of racism, he would conquor Broadway, recordings, Las Vegas, films & television. 42 years ago, Sammy appeared on the TV special- Movin’ With Nancy, where he greeted the star-Nancy Sinatra with a kiss on the lips. As far as I can research, this was the first black-white kiss broadcast on American television. As an African American & Hispanic, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life. He was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes, but he had a complex relationship with the black community, & attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon in 1970. Davis died of throat cancer in 1990; he refused treatment that might have ruined his voice. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. “ I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." His recording of Gotta Lot of Livin’ To Do (from Bye, Bye Birdie) was on my November Mix. I wish he had made it to his 84th birthday today... I would have been so groovy to have Sammy as a guest on my holiday special- A Very Steve Holiday!. Sammy would have done his very cool version of My Favorite Things & we then would have done a duet of Baby, It's Cold Outside, before joining Liza for a medley of We Need A Little Christmas, It's Beginning To look A Lot Like Christmas & Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel. I would really have loved that.

Born On This Day... December 7th- Songwriter Tom Waits

He is a bit of a polarizing figure in my circle, some friends just can’t abide him & some can’t get enough & own the boxed sets of his very experimental theatre work, but I am a fan. Singer/songwriter Tom Waits,with a cap pulled low over his brow, a cigarette dangling from his stubbled face, singing in his mumbling jive of a whiskey growl accompanied by any number of sounds, from cool jazz to heartbreaking balladry & then throw in whole the kitchen sink. I have been a fan of this rather bizarre iconoclast who over 4 decades. Waits has developed a timeless & classic catalog of heartfelt tunes as well as an impressive list of screen credits.


Tom Waits claimed to have been born in a moving taxi. He grew up in California, where he listened to Bing Crosby, Stephen Foster parlor songs, & George Gershwin. He also developed an intense admiration for, & identification with, such Beat writers as Jack Kerouac & Charles Bukowski. As a teenager, Waits was living out of a car while working as a doorman at the L.A. nightclub the Heritage when he decided he should be performing & began writing songs based on overheard snatches of conversation. He is responsible for may songs that I admire- Downtown Train, Heart of Saturday Night, The Piano Has Been Drinking, & his amazing cover of Somewhere from West Side Story. But, he remains very important to me as the writer of 1 of my top 10 songs of all time, a song that I want played at my memorial service- Shiver Me Timbers, here presented by his occasional collaborator Bette Midler:

I'm leavin' my fam'ly

Leavin' all my friends

My body's at home

But my heart's in the wind

Where the clouds are like headlines

On a new front page sky

My tears are salt water

& the moon's full & high

& I know Martin Eden's

Gonna be proud of me

& many before me

Who've been called by the sea

To be up in the crow's nest

Singin' my say

Shiver me Timbers

'Cause I'm a-sailin' away

& the fog's liftin'

the sand's shiftin'

I'm driftin' on out
Ol' Captain Ahab

He ain't got nothin' on me, now.

So swallow me, don't follow me

I'm trav'lin' alone

Blue water's my daughter

I'm gonna skip like a stone

So please call my missus

Gotta tell her not to cry

'Cause my goodbye is written

By the moon in the sky

nobody knows me

I can't fathom my stayin'

Shiver me timbers

'Cause I'm a-sailin' away

& I'm leavin' my family

Leavin' all my friends

My body's at home

but my heart's in the wind

Where the clouds are like headlines

Upon a new front page sky

& shiver me timbers

'Cause I'm a-sailin' away

Monday Crooner Swooners...

The 80's gave me Rick Astley... and I'm never gonna give him up.

The 90's gave me Harry... hello blue eyes!

And the 2000's have given me Michael Buble... who is so cool he is hot

So hot he is cool...

Such a boy next door...

Who makes me think he may be a little bad as well...

I first stumbled upon Michael Buble when he was in a quirky little movie called "Totally Blonde" You should look for it, cuddle under some blanket on the couch with a fire on and some popcorn and hot chocolate and watch this goofy movie--if only because he sings in it... I remember thinking "Who is HE?" when I heard him make love to the music.

And then go out and buy all of your girlfriends this CD for Christmas...

They'll love you for it! Happy Monday!