Once upon a time.

A CM of “Suntory White” starring Sammy Davis Jr. appeared in a great variety of mass media in 1973.

The date is July 2007 now. One of my friends, Shinichi Yamamoto, who was senior(Senpai) to me in college and graduate school, upon learning that I was a great fan of Sammy sought out in secret this EP record by Sammy, through a net auction.

The TV CM where he clinks his glass with his fingers to the tune of “Chikon, chikon” was a familiar sight in these days.

But, I had no way of knowing that this non-commercial promotional record had been produced.

Thirty years later, it found its way to me. I can only marvel at this.

It’s very rare that such records find their way into auctions. Yamamoto Senpai discovered it, and won it so he could give it to me. I am so gratified by his generosity.

There are four songs in this record. On the A side, “Chi-ki Chi-ki Sammy”, Sammy’s CM scat, and the great hit, “The Candy Man.” On the B side, a CM song, “Get With It” and “John Shaft” which is one of his favorites included in his ‘70s recordings.

Check out this rare recording of Suntory’s CM songs.

”Chi-ki Chi-ki Sammy”　

”Get With It”

What a chic and cool corporation Suntory was. We don’t see CMs like these nowadays; neither can we expect to see such sophisticated stuff these days.

Oh, yes, the Uncle Toris series by Ryouhei Yanagihara were the CMs from the ‘50s to ‘60s. Those were the days.

How about this poster? Isn’t it great? These decorated the walls of Suntory bars all over Japan. It is classy with a clock that has the first domestic made transistor movement. It still ticks the time.

Yamamoto Senpai found this again in secret at a place in Yokohama that he patronizes and connived cleverly to secure it for me.

All the members of the OZSons knew about this poster. For some reason, I was the only one who had no clear memory of this.

It was around the time I had just joined a university faculty, so I must have been all work and no play.

It seems like a gift from Heaven that Sammy’s treasures have found their way to me through Yamamoto Senpai.

“Suntory White” is an historic whiskey that started out as the first domestic whiskey “Suntory White Label” by Suntory. It was in 1929, the year of the Great Depression in the US.

Now, Suntory sure is a bold and daring firm, to think of having a black singer Sammy promote “White”. Sammy says “Suntory” in the CMs, but never “White.”
This must have been the settling point, there is a fine line here.

A CM more than 30 years old has suddenly come back to life. Boy, was I flabbergasted. 2007/7/6

translated by Sanae, MD