Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr. was born in Harlem on December 8, 1925, to Elvera Sanchez, a chorus girl, and Sam Davis, a dancer. He was raised by his father and grandmother. His father was in an act with Will Mastin, who was a close friend of the family. At a young age, Sammy joined the act as a singer and dancer. They were known as the “Will Mastin Trio”. It was not the best job, but it put food on the table.
Sammy tried to join the army when Pearl Harbor was bombed, but he was too young. The next year, he got in. He had to go through basic training eight times because there was not much room in the army for performers. He was put down and spit on in the army, but that made him want to perform more. Upon his discharge the trio got back together, and Sammy met Frank Sinatra for the first time.
Sammy wanted to be a big star and he realized this major difference between most black artists and the famous white artists. Most black artists came on stage played some songs, joked at or to each other, and left. The white artists talked with the audience. It was as if the black artists were not fit to talk to the audience. Sammy changed this at a nightclub in Hollywood. He “touched the audience”. This got him a record deal with Decca.
When Sammy was a rising star, he was driving from Las Vegas to L.A. He had an accident that took away his left eye. This gave him publicity and boosted his career. After this, he converted to Judaism and started to refer to God as “The Cat Upstairs”.
Sammy worked hard. You already know he had many talents. What you probably did not know is that he often worked on several projects at the same time. He never received an award, but he was merely a performer, not a writer.
The Rat Pack was made up of Sammy, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and several other actors who worked together on Ocean’s Eleven. While they were in Vegas shooting scenes they worked the Sands Hotel and Casino.
In 1960, he wed May Britt. They had Children, but Sammy’s devotion to his career led to their divorce.
Sammy was active in politics. He supported Democrats until 1972, when he ran to President Nixon’s side. When questioned about selling out Sammy said that Nixon had bought him with good deeds for our country.
Jackie Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 in Georgia. On this day, a legend arrived. Jackie was raised by his mother, and his mother alone. His father left before Jackie was born, and he didn’t remember one thing about him. Jackie had many siblings, brothers and sisters. Jackie had an older brother named Matthew, who was also very athletic. Jackie’s mother tried the best she could to raise these boys right, and teach them that no matter what the whites called them...they were special.
Samuel Cornelius Phillips was born in 1923 in Florence, Alabama to a family of tenant farmers (Sam Phillips Obituary. 3) He grew up around the songs of his parent’s, primarily black, coworker’s songs as they were tending to the cotton fields. Phillips said that he “felt an awakening of [his] spirit when [he] heard the singing of African Americans who worked alongside him”. This early exposure to racial equality stuck with him for the rest of his years. When Phillips grew older, he took a job as a disc jockey for an “open format’ radio station (Sam Phillips Bio. 2). He experienced first-hand the reaction of the listeners to black rhythm and blues, and that led him to founding Sun Records. Sam Phillips founded Sun Records in 1952 in the heart of the Memphis black music scene. Sun Records was created in attempt to “develop new and different artists, get freedom in music, and tape people that weren’t getting tapped; despite the boundaries” (Sam Phillips Bio. 5)
Cal Ripken, Jr., was the perfect baseball player. He would play when he had the flu and even when he had a sprained ankle.
Herschel Walker was born in Augusta, Georgia and grew up outside of Wrightsville, Georgia for the first eleven years of Herschel life he did not show any interest in sports; he preferred reading books and writing poetry. At age ten he went to the Doctor for being overweight at age 12 he began a crash exercise program. Over the next years he did 100,000 pushups, 100,000 sit ups and sprinted thousands
Jackie kept his composure in the nation’s spotlight. Once 1947 came around, Jackie Robinson was officially a Brooklyn Dodger. Some players did not adapt well to the idea of a Negro baseball player on their team and even signed petitions to either get him off the team or to demand to be traded. Burt Shotton, manager of the dodgers at the time, called a meeting and told the players if they did not want to cooperate they were not going to be traded but dropped from the team which in turn ended the protest. Even the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager, Leo Durocher told his players that he would rather trade all of his white players before he traded Jackie Robinson. So Jackie was not alone in his seemingly impossible battle. People had respect for
Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo. The year Jackie was born was 1919 to a family of farmers. His Mother name is Mallie Robinson. She raised Jackie and four other of her children. They were the only black family around and people gave them a hard time about living around them since they were the only black family on the block. Jackie was the very first black baseball player ever to join the white man’s league.
Jackie Robinson, born Jack Roosevelt Robinson, is known for being the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia as the grandson of a slave. He was the youngest of five children and at six months old his father left them. At this time, because it was so hard for African-Americans in the south, his mother Mallie Robinson decided to move them to Pasadena, California where it was easier for African-Americans to live and find jobs.
...Jim Crow era also made it difficult for Wright to become as influential of an author as he would have liked to be. Wright is just the beginning of many African American authors sharing their own perspective, positive or negative, of the African American experience.
There once was a legend and he went by the name of Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. “Jackie was born on January 31, 1919. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play major league baseball. Jackie Robinson.” (“Jackie Robinson.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 14 Aug. 2017, Accessed 22 Sept. 2017 www.biography.com/people/jackie-robinson-9460813) Baseball isn’t the only thing Jackie accomplished throughout his life, for instance he went to college, had kids and did much more. But for Jackie it was harder because he had racial slurs thrown at him. Despite all of the discrimination and racism about Jackie Robinson and his family, he got passed it and became a star. Jackie was an outsider, he was the first African American to play Major league baseball, he used the haters to become an amazing ball player and a hero to other African Americans.
Babe Ruth was a reckless, abandoned child who became America's biggest hero. Babe Ruth's parents did not have the time to take care of him, but little did George Ruth Sr. know that when he was shipping his son off to boarding school, he was pushing one of America's greatest idols out of his life (http://www.baberuth.com). Ruth never received strict parenting until he attended St. Mary's where he began to straighten out. After he became a main stream ball player he began to attract the attention of many fans with the frequency of his homeruns. Ruth hit his prime just after a time of crisis for professional baseball (http://www.baberuth.com). Now Babe is still praised for his accomplishments and for his contribution to the game of baseball and life of Americans. Ruth became America's greatest hero because he gave Americans hope in times of scandal and hardship, he reignited excitement in baseball, and he embodied the American Dream, where anyone can work his way from humble beginnings to great success.
Born in Alton, Illinois, Miles Davis grew up in a middle-class family in East St. Louis. Miles Davis took up the trumpet at the age of 13 and was playing professionally two years later. Some of his first gigs included performances with his high school bandand playing with Eddie Randall and the blue Devils. Miles Davis has said that the greatest musical experience of his life was hearing the Billy Eckstine orchestra when it passed through St. Louis. In September 1944 Davis went to New York to study at Juilliard but spend much more time hanging out on 52nd Street and eventually dropped out of school. He moved from his home in East St. Louis to New York primarily to enter school but also to locate his musical idol, Charlie Parker. He played with Parker live and in recordings from the period of 1945 to 1948. Davis began leading his own group in 1948 as well as working with arranger Gil Evans. Davis’ career was briefly interrupted by a heroin addiction, although he continued to record with other popular bop musicians.
Back Back Back Back Back and GONE. This is what people heard many times when Jackie Robinson was up to bat whether they liked it or not. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the MLB in 1947 which changed the game of baseball forever (America’s). Jackie Robinson faced many hardships such as fans treating him harshly saying folderol while playing on the field, players treating him bad, and not having anywhere to sleep even though he was very athletic even at a very young age.
“The way I figured it” said Jackie Robinson, “I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it” (Robinson). Many people will not publically stand up for what they believe in due to fear of retribution. Jackie Robinson stood up for what he believed in even though people didn’t agree with him. Jackie Robinson is still famous today due to his outstanding baseball skills, his love for the game, and breaking the color barrier.
Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson were the original founders of the Beach Boys, with them were Mike Love, one of their cousins, and Al Jardine, who was one of Brians’ friends. When the Beach Boys started in 1961, no one expected their music to leave its hometown, Hawthorne, California. In October of 1962, however, the Beach Boys released their first album, "Surfin' Safari." Two years later, in May of 1964, the Beach Boys had their first number on hit with, "I Get Around." On August first of the same year, the Beach Boys had their first concert at the Memorial Coliseum in Sacramento, California. From there, the Beach Boys ratings went up dramatically.
In early 1970 the band Queen was formed. Freddie Mercury on vocals, Brian May on guitar, Roger Taylor on drums and Mike Gross on bass. They had known each other for years. All living in the town of Kensington in Britain, sometimes even living together. Brian and Roger belonged to a band called Smile, and Freddie was a very talented vocalsit playing for the band Ibex. They decided to join forces, to better themselves, and their chances of obtaining fame and fortune. After a few months with only a few gigs Mike Gross left the band. He was replaced by Barry Mitchell, who only played a few gigs with them. After a few short months they were looking for their third bass player. Roger, was at a party one night and was introduced to John Deacon, an electronics major at the University of London and a good bass player. The two hit it off, and Deacon became the new member of Queen.