Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story (1999)

About this title: It's hard to believe that a Sammy Davis Jr. box set retrospective was not released until 1999. One simple reason for the delay is that Davis' discography is a licensing nightmare, so the initial triumph of Warner Archives/Reprise/Rhino's four-disc Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis, Jr. Story is that it brings together material controlled by Time Warner, EMI-Capitol, Universal, and the Davis estate. But another reason why a Sammy Davis, Jr. box set may not have been an immediate priority is that recording was never his primary medium. Davis was first and foremost a live performer with an act that ... read more

Tracks:

1. Smile, Darn Ya, Smile [Meskill/O'Flynn/Ric]
2. Gypsy in My Soul [Boland/Jaffe]
3. Hey There [Adler/Ross]
4. Birth of the Blues [Brown/DeSylva/Hende]
5. Easy to Love [Porter]
6. My Funny Valentine [Rodgers/Hart]
7. That Old Black Magic [Arlen/Mercer]
8. Love Me or Leave Me [Donaldson/Kahn]
9. Something's Gotta Give [Mercer]
10. Too Close for Comfort [Bock/Holofcener/Wei]
11. There's a Small Hotel [With Carmen Mcrae] [Rodgers/Hart]
12. I Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry [Cahn/Styne]
13. But Not for Me [Gershwin/Gershwin]
14. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered [With Mundell Lowe] [Hart/Rodgers]
15. I Got Plenty O' Nuttin' [Gershwin/Gershwin]
16. There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York [Gershwin/Gershwin]
17. Soliloquy
18. Change Partners [Berlin]
19. The Lady Is a Tramp [Rodgers/Hart]
20. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You [Redman/Razaf]
21. Get on the Right Track, Baby [Turner]
22. A Lot of Livin' to Do [Adams/Strouse]
23. Begin the Beguine [Porter]
24. My Romance [Rodgers/Hart]
25. Falling in Love With Love [Rodgers/Hart]
26. Soon [Gershwin/Gershwin]
27. Thou Swell [Rodgers/Hart]
28. Let There Be Love [Grant/Rand]
29. Guys and Dolls [Loesser]
30. Bye Bye Blackbird [Henderson/Dixon]
31. Blame It on My Youth [Levant/Heyman]
32. Here's That Rainy Day [With Laurindo Almeida] [Burke/VanHeusen]
33. Lush Life [Strayhorn]
34. A Stranger in Town [Torme]
35. What Kind of Fool Am I? [Bricusse/Newley]
36. Once in a Lifetime [Bricusse/Newley]
37. Someone Nice Like You [Bricusse/Newley]
38. As Long as She Needs Me [Bart]
39. I Married an Angel [Hart/Rodgers]
40. Falling in Love Again [Hollander/Lerner]
41. Me and My Shadow [With Frank Sinatra] [Dreyer/Jolson/Rose]
42. Teach Me Tonight [With Count Basie] [Cahn/DePaul]
43. April in Paris [With Count Basie] [Duke/Harburg]
44. Night Song [Adams/Strouse]
45. I Want to Be With You [With Paula Wayne] [Adams/Strouse]
46. I've Gotta Be Me [Marks]
47. Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) [Bricusse/Newley]
48. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye [With Laurindo Almeida] [Porter]
49. This Was My Love [Harbert]
50. If I Ruled the World [Bricusse/Ornadel]
51. The Shelter of Your Arms [Samuels]
52. Yes I Can [Adams/Strouse]
53. Gonna Build a Mountain [Bricusse/Newley]
54. Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat [Loesser]
55. 'Deed I Do [Hirsch/Rose]
56. Walkin' My Baby Back Home [Ahlert/Turk]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.