I Got a Right to Swing

AMG Review of I Got a Right to Swing

Nick Dedina
All Music Guide

One of Sammy Davis, Jr.'s best studio albums, I Got a Right to Swing is an invigorating mix of up-tempo swing and hard-hitting hythm & blues that secretly featured the Count Basie band, with the Count himself replaced by George Rhodes on the piano (this is most probably due to contractual obligations). The awesome ensemble plays jazz- and drum-heavy arrangements that excite Davis to such an extent that on half of the tracks he replaces his pure, Broadway croon with a rough R&B howl that makes Ray Charles sound like Sam Cooke. The album kicks off with the zany hit version of "The Lady Is a Tramp" that shows off Davis' gift for mimicry as he barrels through a boat-load of showbiz clichés ("they went that away," etc.), but the rest of the album finds Davis at his least stereotypical, with the Basie band playing charts provided by Sy Oliver, Jack Pleis, and Davis' musical director, Morty Stevens. Sadly out of print for decades, I Got a Right to Swing has been reissued by Universal on a two-for-one CD that couples it with the orch song album It's All Over but the Swingin, and it's a must-have for fans of classic pop and vocal jazz.