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"This record is going straight into the toilet. Not just around the rim but into the bowl, and it may just pull my whole career down with it."
That, according to Mojo Magazine, was how Sammy Davis, Jr. initially felt about the biggest hit of his career. And he wasn't the only one.
"The Candy Man" was written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Aubrey Woods sang it in the film, and Anthony was so disgusted by Aubrey's performance, he tried to get permission to re-shoot the scene, Unfortunately, there were several contractual stipulations that forbid the film's producers from doing so.
Anthony decided to record his OWN version, and felt so strongly about it that he offered to pay for the recording session and all the musicians out of his own pocket.
By this time, The Mike Curb Congregation (pretty much MGM Records' in-house vocal background group) had recorded a background track for the song for a possible version by Sammy, and you can see how he felt about it above.
He did, however, record it. Basically, he tossed it off in two takes and headed off to entertain the troops in Vietnam.
Anthony despised Sammy's version as well, but MGM went ahead and released it anyway.
Then, to EVERYONE'S surprise, it went to #1 on both the Adult Contemporary Chart and Hot 100! In Canada, it went to #2 and #3 on the respective charts, and it also reached #3 in Australia!
Not only that, t was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male).
From that point on, Sammy was known as "The Candy Man," whether he liked it or not. Anthony? He just decided to collect the royalties and move on.
So is "The Candy Man" a "Great Song of 1972?" It most likely depends on how you feel about "Willy "Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" and Sammy Davis, Jr. But I'm going to say, "Yes," because it topped the charts despite Sammy's "tossed off" performance...AND because the movie is still so popular today, 50 years later!
Sammy:
Anthony:
Aubrey:
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