On February 4, 1990, television aired a huge tribute to one of show business’s greatest entertainers, celebrating 60 years in the spotlight. Big stars lined up to honor him while he sat and watched from his seat in the audience.
Michael Jackson was one of them. And Michael brought something no one else could. He sang a brand-new song he had written just for the man being honored, on that exact night.
Michael wrote it with his longtime friend Buz Kohan. And the song did something remarkable. It earned Michael a 1990 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Music and Lyrics. The special itself went on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.
Most fans have never once heard that Michael was up for an Emmy as a songwriter. But he was, for this.
Here’s the performance.
Michael singing the song he wrote for the guest of honor
Watch the man in the audience while Michael sings to him. You can see right away what the song means to him.
So who was he?
The man being honored was Sammy Davis Jr., one of the most beloved entertainers of the 1950s and 60s. The song Michael wrote for him was called “You Were There.”
The two of them went back a long way. As a young man, Michael used to turn up at Sammy’s house without even calling ahead, just so he could dig through old tapes of Sammy’s early TV shows. Sammy didn’t mind one bit. He once said of Michael, “He’s like a son.”
This tribute turned out to be the last time Sammy performed in public. He passed away about three months later.
The friendship ran both ways, and there’s a fun bit of proof.
Sammy Davis Jr. singing one of Michael’s own hits
Here’s Sammy taking on Michael’s “Bad,” and clearly having the time of his life doing it. Two generations of showmen, tipping their hats to each other.
Think about what that night really was. A young man at the very top of the world, taking the time to write a song by hand for an old friend who had done it all before him. He didn’t do it for a hit or a chart. He did it as a plain thank-you, from one entertainer to another.
That’s the kind of story that gets lost behind the famous songs and the record sales. Press play and you’ll see it for yourself.