Just For Lovers

They Say...

Review by William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Decca Records released Sammy Davis, Jr.'s debut album, Starring Sammy Davis Jr., on April 18, 1955, and it hit number one on the Billboard chart for the first of six weeks on June 11. Understandably, Decca was anxious for Davis to go back into the studio for a quick follow-up, and over a series of sessions in July he recorded his sophomore LP, Just for Lovers, which was in stores on August 15. As its title indicated, Just for Lovers was a ballad album in which Davis essayed love songs culled from the catalogs of such classic songwriters as Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and Jule Styne. This meant that, unlike Starring Sammy Davis Jr., it really showed off only one aspect of Davis' talent. His comedic skills were ignored; there were no deliberate impersonations, although, as a ballad singer, he revealed the powerful influence of Billy Eckstine. And, although arranger/conductors Sy Oliver and Morty Stevens included some big-band swing styles here and there, as well as a bongo-dominated chart for Porter's "Get Out of Town," the romantic ballad mood extended over most of the disc, until Davis finally broke out at the end with a bravura reading of "Happy Ending," a song previously known for Danny Kaye's version in the 1951 film On the Riviera. (Like much of Kaye's material, it had been written for him by his wife, Sylvia Fine.) Here, at least for a couple of minutes, Davis threw in the kind of dynamic elements he so enjoyed showing off in his live performances. Otherwise, this was a surprisingly subdued recording for him, which didn't keep it from soaring into the Top Five upon release.