Sammy Davis Jr: "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera (1988) - MDA Telethon 

I toured for three years as the opening act for Sammy. After my show every night I would sit in the wings and watch this magnificent performer display his enormous talent. He could sing as good as anyone in the business, he could do comedy, he could do impressions, he could dance, he could play piano, he could play drums, he could play the trumpet. The one thing he couldn't do was fail to put on a great show.He always scored and I learned so much from him. We remained friends through the years and always had a lot of laughs when we got together. He loved to to hear a funny story and also told many funny stories. I was at a private showing with a small group of people the night before his burial and was standing next to his coffin when the pastor closed the lid on his coffin. His service the next day was a great tribute to this one of a kind entertainer. Rest in peace Sammy Davis I will never forget the kindness, love, advice and friendship you gave me.

This man UNDERSTANDS this song! The words! The feelings! The SPIRIT! This is hands DOWN the greatest performance of this song I have ever seen! He GETS IT!!! YES YES YES YES YES!!

I am utterly astonished and mesmerised by the subliminity of his rendition. There’s such humanity, soft yet strong. I am truly awestruck.

We must remember he was well into his fight with throat cancer when he did this performance , which in my opinion, only magnifies his rendition even more. Bravo , Sammy. You were an awesome table setter for the many black entertainers and performers who were to follow the path you blazed for them!

I remember seeing this live as it aired. I had always been a fan of Sammy Davis Jr as an entertainer and like most of the other crooners of his day (The Rat Pack), he was terrific at staying in his lane and doing what he did best. So when the introduction started And being obsessed with musical theater and this show in particular at the time, I remember thinking and most likely saying out loud, "Aw hell no! This is not acceptable." But by the time this man had finished singing this song, I was done in. He took one song from a 2-and-a-half-hour show, made it his own without destroying it and turned into a complete movie all its own and it was and still is one of the finest performances of this piece outside of the show itself, that I have ever heard.

I know it has been said before but this man is the greatest all round entertainer of all

I was privledged to know him We got to see him debut this for the first time in AC with his first live performamce of it. How wonderful to be able to visit this & remember such a great memory. RIP my friend. God blessed us to have you, Alto, Manny, , mom, Romona (his sister), and brother in law, the crew and band, George, Shirley, Brian and all connected which became part of our family and in our lives forever.

I can NOT believe I didn’t know about this version of this song. He would have been an incredible Phantom.

He could sing the yellow pages and he'd be good.

In the first three notes he transformed into the PHANTOM!

The most talented of the Rat Pack by far, IMO.

Sammy! WOW!

Tears running down my face. Oh! What a talent! Best version ever!!!!!!!

Outside of the original cast this is the best version I've ever heard. Thank you Sammy.

There are singers, actors, dancers, comics, impressionists.

Only wished Sammy would have played the phantom on stage like Robert Gulliame did in LA, years ago. Robert was magnificent!! I'm sure Sammy would have been unbelievable

Strong storytelling. Majestic

This version always makes me cry Mr Davis sung the best version he is so missed such a beautiful man blessed voice I hear only this version every time I hear this song, he should have won a Grammy for this one performance we still hear ur voice Mr Davis

BOY - did he LEAVE IT ALL OUT THERE OR WHAT ??????!! Simply AMAZING rendition - maybe the BEST I've ever heard !! I guess it shouldn't really SURPRISE anyone - look at his renditions of Mr. Bojangles and The Candyman which are NEARLY as brilliant . This was just ONE NOTCH above those in my opinion though . It looked like it even surprised Jerry judging by the look on his face and the thumbs up he gave him , lol ! I used to HATE these telethons when I was a kid for obvious reasons but BOY do I wish they were still around TODAY !! Jerry always got the BEST talent to come and perform . Sammy AND Jerry are sorely MISSED today !

The greatest performer of all time 🕰️