The Explanation
(for those who require one)
And, of course, that is what all of this is -- all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow from and to and for that which is ineffable within us and without us, that is both prayer and deliverance, folly and wisdom, that inspires us to dance or smile or simply to go on, senselessly, incomprehensibly, beatifically, in the face of mortality and the truth that our lives are more ill-writ, ill-rhymed and fleeting than any song, except perhaps those songs -- that song, endlesly reincarnated -- born of that truth, be it the moon and June of that truth, or the wordless blue moan, or the rotgut or the elegant poetry of it. That nameless black-hulled ship of Ulysses, that long black train, that Terraplane, that mystery train, that Rocket '88', that Buick 6 -- same journey, same miracle, same end and endlessness."
-- Nick Tosches, Where Dead Voices Gather
5 comments:
I wonder what Sammy Davis would be doing if he were a young artist today. The guy could sing, dance, act, play multiple musical instruments. He evn did impressions - some of them not half bad. What is the current outlet for that particular "skill set" of talent? What sort of music would he actually be singing today? Hip-hop? Can't picture it somehow. What does a male dancer do with that piece of talent today? Other than hustle for work in various chorus lines and other such things? Maybe he'd just be a Vegas lounge act, virtually indistinguishable from the Sammy Davis Jr. of the 50's and 60's. I'm guessing he'd be a huge star, with one of the Vegas Strip casinos building a dedicated theater for his performances, paying him a few hundred grand a week to do 8 or 9 90-minute shows a week, running around the stage like a banshee. But it's sort of a singular talent set - not easily translatable to some other venue or stage setting.
Good question, John. Perhaps people would be creating vehicles for Sammy and his talents. Another maybe: if Michael Jackson had been a little more stable in the psychology, he could have been what Sammy could have been if not for the racial barriers he faced.
Don't forget another of Sammy's talents: he was a great quick draw artist.
Sammy Davis Jr. was also a photographer and took many backstage shots. Some of them were pretty good but mostly it was the famous subjects that were the highlights of his stuff, as is and was the case with many celebrity / photographers it was the access to the backstage scenarios that was the attraction.
being so versatile and adaptible, I'm sure he would have found a way to suit his talent to these times
(as would others of that era)
Yes, he can
I've seen this image on an LP cover (not a SDJ record), but for the life of me I can't remember which one. Anyone out there know which one?
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