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Sammy Davis, Jr. signed for 20th Century records in November 1974, but it was clear that the mid-1970s were not a great time for ‘middle of the road’ singers in the existing recording industry environment. That meant Sammy’s output in the United States was restricted to a handful of singles over the next two years (all of which charted on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary (AC) chart in the US – at the time called the ‘Easy Listening’ chart).

One of those singles was Sammy’s studio recording of the theme he had recorded for the TV show Baretta, titled “Keep Your Eye On The Sparrow”. Unexpectedly, it became a smash hit in Europe, topping the music charts in The Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. To capitalise on Samy’s newfound popularity, 20th Century had Sammy record some more TV themes, and released his existing singles onto an LP which was released in overseas markets only, titled The Song And Dance Man. 

Presumably the album met with some success, because the following year, 20th Century (now re-named 20th Century-Fox Records) released a follow-up album titled Sammy Davis, Jr. Sings The Great TV-Tunes in Europe only (printed and distributed in The Netherlands). Eight of the twelve inclusions were TV themes. Of the other four non-TV-related cuts, three had been released on The Song And Dance Man, and the other was a new recording of “I Can Do That” from the recent smash hit musical A Chorus Line.

Sammy’s producer for his sessions at 20th Century was the same as his producer at MGM Records, Mike Curb. Curb had sold his 25% stake in MGM upon his resignation as President of the company in September 1973, but he sale of his stock triggered a non-compete clause which meant he could not run a record label for two years (he would return to launch Warner/Curb in late 1975). However, he was free to continue to produce records, and did so for Donny and Marie Osmond on Polydor, Al Martino on Capitol, and for Sammy Davis, Jr. on 20th Century Records.

Al Capps

For the sessions of TV themes, Curb reunited Sammy with prolific arranger Al Capps. Capps, who in recent years had worked regularly with Andy Williams, José Feliciano and Cher, had arranged for Sammy at Reprise across four sessions in 1968. Producers Jimmy Bowen and Mike Post had attempted to record an R&B album with Sammy, and brought in Capps for arranging duties – the album was a struggle to record but was eventually released as Sammy Steps Out. On this album, Capps gives some of the TV tunes a taste of disco mixed with funk; it was 1976 after all.

Three TV tunes were released on this album for the first time, all three Norman Lear productions. Unlike several of the themes that were released on The Song And Dance Man, at least these three already had lyrics! It was an obvious choice for Sammy to record “Those Were The Days”, from All In The Family, given Sammy’s appearance on the show in 1972 – to this day universally hailed as one of the greatest episodes in TV sitcom history. Sammy also recorded the themes to two All In The Family spin-offs, Maude (“And Then There’s Maude”) and The Jeffersons (“Movin’ On Up”). Sammy would make an appearance on the latter show, but not until its 10th season in 1984.

Enjoyable despite its limited artistic merit, Sammy Davis, Jr. Sings The Great TV-Tunes has great value as a rare piece of 1970’s music and television ephemera. It also marked the end of Sammy’s brief relationship with 20th Century Records – by the time the album was released in Europe in 1977, Sammy had joined Mike Curb’s new partnership with Warner Records. There would be only a final few singles and LPs remaining in Sammy’s recording career.