Introduction
The Rate of Eleven: The Unbreakable Bond of Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis Presley
To the casual observer of 1970s pop culture, Sammy Davis Jr. and Elvis Presley belonged to entirely different galaxies of entertainment. Sammy was the consummate vaudevillian, a brilliant linchpin of Frank Sinatra’s ultra-cool Rat Pack who had conquered the Las Vegas strip with sophisticated jazz and tap. Elvis was the raw, leather-clad deity of rock and roll whose explosive stadium style eventually took over Vegas in the 1970s. Yet, far beneath the glitz of the marquee lights lay a deep, mutual admiration that stretched back to 1957—a brotherhood forged in humble beginnings and sustained by an unshakeable sense of humor.
Ringside Imitations and Halloween Presleys
The friendship began in the fall of 1957 when Elvis took his then-girlfriend, actress Kitty Dolan, to see Sammy perform at the Sands Hotel. At the climax of his set, Sammy suddenly broke into a spot-on, howling caricature of Elvis performing Hound Dog. Far from being offended, Elvis roared with laughter. Sammy’s brilliant mimicry became a press sensation, repeated at Hollywood’s Moulin Rouge with Elvis cheering from the ringside.
The phenomenon of legendary Black entertainers paying tribute to Elvis didn’t stop with Sammy. That same October, at a star-studded Hollywood Halloween party, Memphis DJ George Klein walked into a room to find Nat King Cole dressed entirely as Elvis—complete with a black leather jacket, pasted-on sideburns, and a guitar slung around his neck. When Klein brought an ecstatic Elvis over to meet him, it cemented a profound cross-cultural respect that defied the rigid industry divisions of the era.
“Early on, somebody told me that Elvis was black and I said, ‘No, he’s white, but he’s down home… and that’s what it’s all about.'”
— Sammy Davis Jr. on the cultural essence of Elvis Presley
A Midnight Encore with Chuck Berry
While Frank Sinatra openly criticized the rising tide of rock and roll, Sammy defended Elvis fiercely, recognizing that true artistry transcended racial and stylistic divides. Their bond endured through Elvis’s movie years and culminated in iconic late-night Vegas adventures.
One unforgettable evening, Elvis, his wife Priscilla, Sammy, and his wife Altovise were walking through the lobby of the Hilton Hotel after watching Sammy’s headline show. Suddenly, the unmistakable, driving guitar intro of Chuck Berry echoed from the hotel lounge. Without saying a word, the two icons grinned at each other and slipped into the nearly empty lounge, taking a front-row booth. Spotting them, Berry playfully teased Elvis from the stage about their old 1950s chart battles. Elvis shouted back, requesting Berry’s hit Promised Land. For the rest of the set, Elvis and Sammy sat side-by-side, singing along at the top of their lungs to a room of just a handful of stunned onlookers.
Following Elvis’s tragic passing, Sammy fiercely defended his late friend against media exploitation. To Sammy, the metrics of talent were simple. When asked to evaluate the King’s definitive legacy, he offered a tribute that settled the score forever: “On a scale of 1 to 10, I rate Elvis 11.”