If you close your eyes and think of Sammy Davis Jr., you probably see the tuxedo. You see the rings, the cigarette, and that effortless, cool-as-ice grin. But if you listen to Sammy Davis Jr. I've Gotta Be Me, you aren't just hearing a song. You’re hearing a guy fighting for his life.
Honestly, the track is basically the DNA of the 20th century’s most complicated entertainer. It’s loud. It’s brassy. It's a little bit desperate.
Most people think of it as just another "swingin' standard" from the Rat Pack era. You know, the kind of thing you’d hear in a Vegas lounge while losing forty bucks at the blackjack table. But the story behind the song—and why Sammy turned it into his personal manifesto—is way more intense than most fans realize. It wasn't even his song to begin with.
The Weird Broadway Origins
Believe it or not, this wasn't some custom-written anthem for the world’s greatest entertainer. The song actually came from a 1968 Broadway musical called Golden Rainbow. It was written by Walter Marks. The show starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé.
In the play, the character Larry Davis (played by Lawrence) sings it at the end of the first act. It was meant to be a character moment about a guy trying to make it in Las Vegas. Steve Lawrence actually released his own version first in 1967. It did okay on the "Easy Listening" charts. But let's be real: when Sammy got his hands on it, the song changed.
Sammy recorded his version in 1968 with producer Jimmy Bowen. He tweaked the title slightly from "I've Got to Be Me" to the more colloquial Sammy Davis Jr. I've Gotta Be Me. That one tiny change—that "Gotta"—made it feel like a demand rather than a statement.
A Hit Against All Odds
By the late sixties, the world was moving on from the Rat Pack. The Beatles had happened. Hendrix was happening. A guy in a suit singing show tunes wasn't exactly what the kids were buying.
Yet, Sammy’s version exploded.
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It hit number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1969. It stayed in the Top 40 for eleven weeks. For a guy whose "cool factor" was supposedly fading in the era of psychedelia, that’s a massive win. But it wasn't just about the melody. The lyrics felt like they were ripped right out of Sammy’s actual diary.
"I'll go it alone, that's how it must be / I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me."
When Sammy sang those lines, he wasn't playing a character in a musical. He was talking about being a Black man who converted to Judaism. He was talking about losing his eye in a 1954 car crash and coming back stronger. He was talking about the absolute hell he caught for marrying a white woman, May Britt, back when that was still illegal in many states.
He was telling the world to deal with it.
The Civil Rights Subtext Nobody Talks About
There is a really cool bit of history involving Steve Lawrence, the guy who originally sang it on Broadway. Lawrence actually encouraged Sammy to record the song. He reportedly felt that while the song worked for his character in the play, it would take on a whole new layer of meaning if a Black artist sang it during the Civil Rights era.
He was right.
Sammy was in a weird spot in the late 60s. The younger generation of Black activists sometimes looked at him as a "sellout" or an "Uncle Tom" because he hung out with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. They saw the tuxedo and the Vegas lights and thought he was trying too hard to please white audiences.
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But Sammy was a massive donor to the Civil Rights Movement. He marched with Dr. King. He refused to play at segregated hotels, single-handedly forcing some of the biggest venues in Vegas to integrate.
Sammy Davis Jr. I've Gotta Be Me became his response to the critics on both sides. To the white people who wanted him to stay in his place, and to the Black activists who wanted him to be a different kind of leader. He was basically saying: I'm doing this my way.
The 2017 Documentary and the Legacy
If you really want to understand the weight of this song, you have to check out the PBS American Masters documentary from 2017. It’s titled—unsurprisingly—Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me.
Directed by Sam Pollard, the film does a brilliant job of showing how "the song" became "the man." It features interviews with people like Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Quincy Jones. They all point to the same thing: Sammy was a "one-eyed Negro Jew" (his words) in a world that wanted everyone to fit into neat little boxes.
He didn't fit. He wouldn't fit.
The documentary highlights how the song followed him through his most controversial moments. Like the time he hugged Richard Nixon in 1972. That hug nearly ended his career with Black audiences. Or the time he kissed Archie Bunker on All in the Family. He was constantly pushing buttons, and the song was the soundtrack to that friction.
Why We Still Listen
So, why does a 50-year-old song still show up in commercials for Diet Coke or the Mitsubishi Outlander? Why did Ryan Tedder cover it? Why does it show up in movies like Nobody or Freddy Got Fingered?
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It's the "it" factor.
The arrangement is a masterclass in tension and release. It starts with that driving, insistent beat. Then the brass kicks in. By the time Sammy hits that final "ME!", it’s like a physical punch. It’s one of the few songs from that era that doesn't feel like a relic. It feels like a mission statement.
What You Can Learn From Sammy’s Anthem
If you’re looking for a takeaway from the history of Sammy Davis Jr. I've Gotta Be Me, it’s probably about the cost of authenticity. Sammy paid a high price for being himself. He was lonely. He was often misunderstood. He struggled with debt and health issues later in life.
But he never stopped being the guy in that song.
Actionable Insights for the Modern "Me"
- Audit your "Tuxedo": We all have a public persona. Sammy’s was the entertainer. Figure out if your public version is suffocating the real you.
- Embrace the Friction: Sammy was at his best when he was challenging expectations. If everyone likes what you're doing, you might not be being yourself.
- Own Your Narrative: Don't let others define your identity. Sammy took a song written for a white Broadway lead and turned it into the definitive Black American anthem of the 60s.
- Listen to the 1968 Recording: Don't just watch a clip on YouTube. Get the high-quality audio. Listen to the way his voice breaks slightly on the word "die." That’s where the truth is.
The next time you hear those opening notes, remember that it isn't just a catchy tune. It’s the sound of a man who refused to be anything other than exactly who he was. And honestly? We could all use a little more of that energy today.
Next Steps to Explore Sammy's World
To truly appreciate the nuance of Sammy’s performance, you should compare his 1968 studio version with his live 1980s performances. You can hear the aging in his voice, but the conviction actually gets stronger as he gets older. Also, track down the 2017 PBS documentary—it’s the most honest look at his life you’ll ever find.
Finally, look up the lyrics to "Mr. Bojangles." It’s often considered his other "signature" song, but where "I've Gotta Be Me" is about defiance, "Bojangles" is about the vulnerability he kept hidden. Together, they tell the full story.