The Sounds of Summer- Day 64 of 95. “The Candy Man”- Sammy Davis Jr. Another one of those songs which isn’t necessarily a song about summer but one which I associate with a summer. During the summer of 1972 this single went to #1. I wasn’t much of a music fan back then- I was eleven and more interested in baseball than music but I clearly remember hearing this song it seemed like every time a radio was on at home or in the car. A few years later when my Pirates had pitcher John Candelaria on the team- he was nicknamed The Candy Man- and the song was a regular fixture at Pirate games- so I guess it does have a summer connection.
slicethelife 
I had this song…well my sister did…I remember that MGM label. Only in the seventies would Sammy Davis Jr share the charts alongside Paul McCartney, Elton John, and the Stones.
Yes early 70’s anything was possible on the charts!
I remember reading somewhere that Sammy Davis, Jr. was dead set against recording this song, but his manager or someone influential persuaded him to do it. He relented, but only under the condition that he’d do only one take, which fortunately worked out to be a good one. It was the biggest hit of his career.
Funny how often things like that happen- Sinatra hated Strangers In The Night for example.
An all-round entertainer!!
They always call Sugar Ray Robinson- pound for pound the greatest boxer- maybe Sammy was pound for pound the greatest entertainer. He could do it all.
That’s the truth!!
It’s funny how two songs can be so similar but one fizzles and the other becomes a hit. I can think of several “Candy Man” like songs that never made it. You’re right it is a good summer song.
What is stranger- when that happens or when there are a couple versions that are both hits? Or like back in the day when a song would be a hit one year by one artist [example Gladys Knight and The Pips- I Heard It Through The Grapevine} and the next year Marvin Gaye has a #1 with it? I don’t think that stuff still happens- but I could be wrong since I don’t listen to Top 40 radio anymore… things that make you go hmmmm.
Man, I haven’t listened to this song for years. Thanks for sharing.