Singing to a Bulldog by Anson Williams

Author:Anson Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Readers Digest

My “Big Room” Break from the Best

“Dat song make me feel alive, but only when Sammy sing it. He got mo’ pain den me, but he take mine away.”

Growing up, Dino, Desi, and Billy was a popular teen group. Dino was Dean Martin’s son, Desi was Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s son, and Billy was a close friend of theirs. At the time, they were on the cover of every teen magazine in the world. I would sit on my small front porch, reading a magazine, dreaming about driving one of their Ferraris and having girls run after me. I never realized that one day I’d be in the same publication, and actually meet and spend time with both Dino and Desi.

It wasn’t until years later that I learned their lives were not as great as the magazines projected. It turns out, we were pretty much alike—me, a kid sitting in front of a one-­bathroom house, just a number in the world, and them, sons of superstars, rich and famous. Like me, they didn’t have the love in their lives that they so desperately needed. It doesn’t matter how rich and famous you are, there is no happiness without the love of family.

Actually, I was the lucky one, because I had to work hard jobs to earn money. My parents never had more than a hundred dollars in savings, and I had to pay for everything that I ever wanted except for food and basic clothes. If I didn’t have to work, I never would have met Willie. It’s ironic that with all the cars, fame and money, Dino and Desi kept searching for happiness, but a simple, uneducated janitor found me mine.

It was in one of those teen magazines that I first learned about the Rat Pack and Sammy Davis, Jr. Dino Martin was talking about his dad, Dean, and the Vegas shows he did with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, and Joey Bishop. Dean Martin said that Sammy was the most talented in their group, the best nightclub performer in the world. I didn’t have much interest in nightclubs, Sammy, or the others in the pack at the time, but years later, I would get my “Big Room” break from “The Best.”

Elvis was Willie’s number one favorite performer, this is true. But honestly the Rat Pack could be considered an equal number one. He loved Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, and, especially, Sammy Davis, Jr. Their music would instantly soften his face and put a smile in his eyes, and when he’d bring in his ancient record player and play their 33 LPs and 45s, the song that he played over and over again was “Birth of the Blues” sung by Sammy. “Dat song make me feel alive, but only when Sammy sing it. He got mo’ pain den me, but he take mine away.”

When I was his janitorial assistant, I was too young to under­stand the perceptiveness of his words. Willie understood that Sammy helped everybody but himself; that he used his pain—and ultimately, that is what made him great.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.