JOHN COLTRANE

Coltrane (1926-1967) was born in Hamlet, NC, and moved to Philadelphia in 1943. He worked with Dizzy Gillespie’s big band from 1949-1951. His real career spans 1955 to 1967, during which time he reshaped modern jazz and influenced generations of other musicians. Coltrane was freelancing in Philadelphia in the summer of 1955 when he received a call from trumpeter Miles Davis to join the latter’s quintet. It was during the second half of the 1950s that he had his legendary recording sessions with Davis and with Thelonious Monk.

SAMMY DAVIS, JR.

Davis (1925-1990) was recognized as "the world's greatest living entertainer," being a versatile performer equally adept at acting, singing, dancing, and impersonations. A member of the so-called Rat Pack, he was among the very first African-American talents to find favor with audiences on both sides of the color barrier. Born in Harlem, he made his stage debut at the age of three as “Silent Sam, the Dancing Midget." His first film role was at age 7, and he later received tap dancing lessons from Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. His performance troupe opened for Tommy Dorsey at Detroit's Michigan Theater, and it was there in 1941 that Davis first met Dorsey vocalist Frank Sinatra. After an unpleasant stint in the Army during World War II, Davis met Mickey Rooney, who encouraged him to begin including his many impersonations in Davis’ act. In 1954, Davis cut an LP that topped the charts, and in that same year he lost his left eye in a much-publicized auto accident. But he returned to singing, and in 1955 made his Broadway debut. In 1959, he became a charter member of the Rat Pack, a loose confederation of Sinatra associates that including Dean Martin, Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. They performed together in Las Vegas and made a series of highly self-referential Rat Pack films. A public outcry over his 1960 marriage to Swedish actress May Britt elicited death threats. His films during the 1960s were highly successful, one of his most memorable being Bob Fosse's 1969 musical Sweet Charity. In 1972, Davis topped the pop charts with the song "The Candy Man." His career waned in the late ‘70s and 1980s, and he was confined to the casino circuit. His last screen performance was in the in the 1989 film Tap. Having been a lifelong smoker, Davis died of cancer.