By 1972, Sammy Davis Jr. had released more than 70 singles, beginning with “Inka Dinka Doo” in 1950. Although Davis had several moderate hits, including “Hey There” in 1954 and “What Kind Of Fool Am I” in 1962, it wasn’t until “The Candy Man” came out in 1972 that Davis scored his first and only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Ironically, it’s a song Davis incorrectly predicted would be the end of his career, not his biggest success story. “The Candy Man” was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. The song first appeared in the 1971 film, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. However, it’s Aubrey Woods, not Davis, who sings “The Candy Man” for the movie’s soundtrack.
Videos by American Songwriter
Credit Mike Curb, who was working for Davis’s record label at the time, with suggesting Davis sing “The Candy Man”. The feel-good and slightly quirky song says in part, “The Candy Man / The Candy Man can / The Candy Man can ’cause he mixes it with love / And makes the world taste good.”
Davis includes “The Candy Man” on his Sammy Davis Jr. Now album. Even though he was displeased, Davis consented to sing “The Candy Man”. Still, he sang it in only two takes, since he was sure the song would flop.
The Success of “The Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr.
It took a lot of persuading for Davis to record “The Candy Man”, so sure he was that the song would be a massive failure.
“It’s horrible. It’s a timmy-two-shoes, it’s white bread, cute-ums, there’s no romance. Blechhh!” Davis said when his manager suggested he record “The Candy Man”.
“This record is going straight into the toilet,” he added. “Not just around the rim, but into the bowl, and it may just pull my whole career down with it.”
Of course, Davis was very, very wrong in his prediction of “The Candy Man”. The song not only became the only time he sat at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but he stayed at the top for an impressive three weeks. He was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, for this song.
It’s a shocking turn of events for a song that Davis was adamantly opposed to recording. Unfortunately for Davis, he never repeated the success of “The Candy Man”. Nonetheless, he did have some other moderate hits, including “The People Tree”, a Top 20 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, which followed “The Candy Man”.
In 1975, Davis had his final Top 40 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart with “Song And Dance Man”. Surprisingly, Davis never had another hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after this song.
Photo by: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank
More Behind The Song
-
396207 20: Brooks and Dunn perform at the Country Freedom Concert October 21, 2001 at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center. The concert will benefit the Salvation Army's Disaster Relief Fund and the victims, families and rescue workers affected by the events of September 11th. (Photo by Bill Steber/Getty Images) -
American Country musician Kenny Rogers (1938 – 2020) performs onstage at Brendan Byrne Arena (later Meadowlands Arena), East Rutherford, New Jersey, October 20, 1988. (Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images) -
(MANDATORY CREDIT Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) Aerosmith Steven Tyler live at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, June 1988. (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) -
Ohio Rock and funk group Wild Cherry (best known for their huge hit "Play That Funky Music") pose for a publicity still circa 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
HOLLYWOOD – SEPTEMBER 18: Members of Fleetwood Mac from left: John McVie, Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham on the SECOND ANNUAL ROCK MUSIC AWARDS. Image dated September 18, 1976. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images) -
1986: Singer Mick Hucknall of Simply Red performing. (Photo by BSR Agency/Gentle Look via Getty Images) -
British pop and soul singer Dusty Springfield (1939 – 1999) performing on the music TV show, 'Ready Steady Go!', at the Rediffusion studios in Kingsway, London, 14th February 1964. (Photo by Frank Martin/BIPS/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) -
American funk band Cameo (American singer Charlie Singleton, American singer and musician Larry Blackmon, and American singer and musician Tomi Jenkins) in the press room of the 1987 Soul Train Music Awards, held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California, 23rd March 1987. Cameo won the awards for 'Album of the Year (Group, Duo, or Band)' for 'Word Up!' and 'Best Single (Group, Duo, or Band)' for 'Word Up'. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)