Details

Throughout his career with Reprise Records, Sammy Davis, Jr.’s focus in the recording booth was on creating solid LPs, largely eschewing more novelty material in favour of a repertoire pulled from the Great American Songbook, and, more often, the Great White Way. A notable exception to this approach was “The Shelter Of Your Arms”, a solid pop tune with a more commercial sound, aimed squarely at radio play.

It was part Bacharach, part Mancini, with a syncopated bass line, chimes, bells and a female chorus, and all glued together by Sammy’s strong earnest vocals. “The Shelter Of Your Arms” became the second Billboard Top 20 hit Sammy had with Reprise (his first being “What Kind Of Fool Am I” in 1962), and his third, “I’ve Gotta Be Me”, wouldn’t arrive for another half-decade.

The success of its eponymous single no doubt commercially assisted this album, which was released mid-February, and reached as high as #26 on the Billboard LP charts. Beyond the title track, all but one (“Some Days Everything Goes Wrong”) of the remaining inclusions had been recorded quite some time ago, back in 1961 and 1962, and hence most were Marty Paich arrangements.

The Carousel showstopper “If I Loved You” and Sammy’s frenetic “I Married An Angel” had already been released on Belts The Best Of Broadway and All-Star Spectacular respectively, and the swinging “Bee-Bom” had appeared on the LP Johnny Cool – Original Motion Picture Score (Sammy had a small role in the film and sang two songs).

The remaining six tracks (all of which originally hail from stage or film) had, for whatever reason, been left off previous Davis releases. Happily, they work well together in this collection thanks to Paich’s ingenious musical ear and Sammy’s mostly straightforward delivery. This album would finish as Sammy Davis, Jr.’s third-most successful LP at Reprise, and justifiably so.