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Sammy Davis Jr. was a great entertainer - but this presents a problem for record collectors. Because he was so versatile, it's hard to know which Sammy does the singing on his various albums. Will it be the conventional romantic ballads from his early years at Decca - or the wild Las Vegas showman? There's even one album where Sammy sings nothing but country songs.

Fortunately, the Sammy we all remember turned up for "I Gotta Be Me." Its title comes from the opening track, Sammy's personal anthem (which also became the title for his later greatest hits collection.) But Sammy was in anthem mode, turning a sweet first-person love song like "She Believes In Me" into a soaring and personal triumph. Even the album's cover captures Sammy in mid-groove, cocking his head and closing his eyes while he swings his arms to the beat

There's fiery pizazz in the instruments, which inspires some great vocal work. There's an appropriately sassy delivery of the lyrics about how all of New York "is my personal property." Even a standard like "I've Got You Under My Skin" comes to life as Sammy playfully skips around the rhythm, and for a slow number like "Here I'll Stay," Sammy digs into the rhythm, snapping his fingers and grooving on the bongo drums. The fifth song on the album was originally the last song on Side One, an exhilarating number with some wicked-fast drums. Sammy sings out that "I'm a Brass Band" with delight, and at the end of the track jokingly blurts out a speedy "shoobie-doobie-doobie, doo-wee, doo-wee" before the orchestra's final chord!

Sammy's personality was already making him a household name, and his career was peaking when this album was released in 1968. He'd made appearances on all the top TV shows, including "Laugh-In," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "I Dream of Jeannie," and even "The Wild Wild West." (He'd even do three episodes of "The Mod Squad.") Just two years earlier he'd been nominated for an Emmy for a variety special called "The Swinging World of Sammy Davis Jr." Frank Sinatra's rat pack enjoyed its heyday in the early 1960s, and this would be one of Sammy's final records for Sinatra's "Reprise" label.

This album captures some of the magic of that moment in time. The same year Sammy was tapped to sing a song in Bob Fosse's new musical "Sweet Charity." Three songs from the musical turn up on the album, including the high-flying show-stopper, "If My Friends Could See Me Now." As the orchestra hits its introductory chord, Sammy jokingly interjects "Super!" But his voice trembles with joy as he gleefully shares all the excitement he could bring into yet another melody.

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