When did I hear Sam?

I Wan'na Be Like You; Louis Prima; Sam Butera and The Witnesses; Phil Harris

My friend, A.D., had told me many stories about Sam Butera before I decided to take the job as the piano player in his band. Sam had worked with almost everybody in Hollywood during the 1950’s and the 1960’s. He also had worked with nearly every big name in the recording industry. He made an album with Sammy Davis, Jr., and went on tour with Frank Sinatra. Sam worked and lived on the fringes of the big time.

While driving to Las Vegas, I tried to figure out when I ever would have seen or heard Sam Butera – on the radio or on TV. “Did you see him on the Ed Sullivan Show?” A.D. asked. No. I’ve never seen the Ed Sullivan Show. “Well, certainly you heard him on ‘Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody’.” Nope. I’ve only heard the David Lee Roth version. “Did you ever see the movie ‘Hey, Boy. Hey, Girl’?” Uh-uh. “Okay, then, how ‘bout ‘The Jungle Book’?” Disney’s “Jungle Book”? “Yup.” He was in that? “He was a monkey.”

Sam, I understand you were in “The Jungle Book”. “Yup. I was a monkey.” Well. How ‘bout that for verification? Did you have a speaking line? “Uh. I don’t remember. But I did vocal back up for Louis Prima’s song in the movie.” Which song? “I Wanna’ Be Like You”.

I had always thought that song was pretty cool. And, now … it was even cooler. One of my favorite songs on my iPod.

Credits: To David Lee Roth, for doing “Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” the same way Sam did it. I know Sam gave you a hard time for doing the song. Thanks for singing it, anyway.

This is my normal Saturday individual track posting.