Gary James' Interview With
John Davidson



He's a singer. He's a musician. He's a TV host. He's an actor. He's an author. He's a comedian. He's an entertainer. He's truly a man of many talents. As a recording artist for Columbia Records, five of his albums made it to Billboard's 200 chart. All in all he recorded twelve albums in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared more than one hundred times on the original Hollywood Squares. He was seen on all the hit TV shows of the day, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Sonny And Cher Comedy Hour and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, which he hosted eighty-seven times! He appeared in movies, including The Happiest Millionaire, The Concord: Airport '79 and Edward Scissorhands. He performed in Branson, Missouri. The gentleman we are talking about is Mr. John Davidson, and we spoke with him about his past and what he's up to now.

Q - John, did you see yourself on The Best Of Ed Sullivan on ME (My Entertainment) TV?

A - I'd never seen that clip before. I know I did Sullivan twice. I might have done it three times. I've done so many things Gary, I really can't remember all the things I've done. It's been an incredible career. I've been doing this for fifty-eight years, almost sixty years. I've been a game show host. I've been in a sit-com with Sally Field. I've taken over for (Johnny) Carson many, many times. I've been in Broadway shows. I've done Shakespeare. (laughs) So, I can't remember all the guest shots I've been on, but I'm very grateful for having a great career.

Q - When you see yourself singing on Ed Sullivan, what goes through your mind? Do you think maybe I should have done something a little differently?

A - (laughs) Well, I was what I was. I came from a very conservative family. I was quite a conservative guy. I was never as religious as people thought I was because my Dad was a Baptist preacher. I've always questioned religion all through my life. I'm an atheist now. I'm very secular. I'm a member of a group called Openly Secular. I've wrestled with religion a lot. I started very conservative, very clean-cut. I've just kind of got more and more crazy as life goes on. You meet fantastic theatrical people. I've worked with so many people that had a different point of view that have broadened my outlook and expanded my idea of myself, I guess you could say. So, I look back on the character that was singing there as another guy. It was me. It was fifty years ago. It was kind of like the Director, Richie Cunningham in Happy Days, Ron Howard. I've sure he looks back on Richie Cunningham as really another character. We're all playing roles and the role I was playing back then was real, but my reality has changed. I've discovered a lot about life since then. I look different. I talk different. I consider myself to have a different perspective on life. That's what should change. We all should change. And I certainly have changed.

Q - Just imagine what goes through Ron Howard's mind when he looks at clips of himself on Andy Griffith!

A - Yeah. That's what I mean.

Q - Our paths have sort of crossed John. I was in the offices of Concerts West (Jerry Weintraub) in March, 1977. The receptionist hit a button. "Mr. John Davidson on line one." I thought you must have been in the office at the same time or your wife is keeping close tabs on you!

A - (laughs) Weintraub signed me on. He had the three Ds. Denver, Davidson and Diamond. The other two did much better than I did. At the time I was playing the Elvis showroom at the Las Vegas Hilton and there was a lot of money flowing around. He got me an incredible deal to co-host a show called That's Incredible with Fran Tarkington and Kathy Lee Crosby. Jerry Weintraub was a very important (person) to me during those years, and then I moved on. He was a powerful, powerful manager who I think wanted to be a film producer. He produced a lot of great films as well. I was with Weintraub during those years and with Ken Kragen. Ken Kragen used to be in Jerry Weintraub's office before he did Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie. But those were great years.

Q - Before Jerry Weintraub you with BNB and this guy, Alan Bernard. BNB also had The Carpenters. They too were a powerful management company, weren't they?

A - Oh, yeah. My first manager was Bob Banner, who found me on Broadway and put me on the Carol Burnett Show a lot. He also found Carol Burnett on Broadway and developed her career. After that I went with Alan Bernard at BNB. I did a couple of specials with The Carpenters. I actually had a date with Karen Carpenter along the way. It was very interesting. (laughs) BNB helped me with a lot of album deals with Columbia and Mercury Records during those years. That was in the '70s. The after that I got with Weintraub and that led to a lot of great things. It takes a village to do a great career. (laughs) I've certainly had a lot of management and a lot of chances for exposure.

Q - Karen Carpenter had one of the most beautiful voices. What a sad ending to her life.

A - Yeah. She was very hard on herself. Very meticulous. I worked in the studio with her twice, doing her specials. She and Richard were, oh, such professionals! They worked so hard to get it absolutely right. If you listen to their records, The Carpenters really knew how to make records. She just knew what her voice was. She was singing down where Anne Murray sings. She was an alto. She knew her sound and how to make it. They started at the Long Beach State Fair in L.A. in the music department. They were real pros. Very educated musicians who worked very hard at it.

Q - In your online bio, you or somebody, poses the question, "Who is John Davidson? Is he a comedian, author, actor, musician, TV host, singer or entertainer?" Of course you've done all those things. Would you have been better off had you concentrated all your efforts on one thing?

A - I think I was bored just doing one thing. I probably could have won awards or least had a chance to if I stuck to one thing. My early manager, Bob Banner, who was before Weintraub, and Alan Bernard said, "You can be a spear. That's one thing. You can be a single blade. You can be a spear like Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis. Just do one thing and really do it well, or you can be a Swiss Army knife. Do everything. Learn how to tell a joke. Do a little soft show and tap dance. Do a sit-com. Do comedy. Let's talk about telling jokes. How do you tell a joke? How do you relate to the audience?" It was my nightclub act as a total entertainer which brought me to Vegas and got me so many Vegas contracts there in the late '60s, '70s and '80s. So, my Vegas act I did with no hit records. Remember, all the other Vegas acts had hit records, but I never spent enough time in the studio to really work on recording. I was all over the place and I think I like it that way. I think I would do it again that way. You don't really master anything. I'm still trying to master all those separate things and I'm still trying to do a better show.

Q - Doesn't everybody try to do that?

A - No. Johnny Mathis says, "I make this sound. I do this thing with my voice and I make incredible recordings. I make this vocal sound. I don't try to be an actor. I don't try to be a comedian," whereas Sinatra tried to do it all.

Q - And he did!

A - Bob Hope. Tom Jones makes this raw, incredible sound and he doesn't try to be an actor. He said, "This is what I do." I've always tried to do it all and it may have been a mistake. I've made so many mistakes in my career. Maybe that was one of 'em. Could be, but that's what I did.

Q - When you were on Columbia Records, did you ever by chance meet Janis Joplin? She was on that label.

A - Of course there were tons of people on the label. I never met her. At that point I was so square, so in my own bubble that I don't think Janis Joplin would want to meet me or I would've enjoyed talking to her. I admire what she does. The freedom that she sang with; I would like to sing with that much abandon, just to fling it out there. Just to let it go. I admire that. In the '60s I didn't really know the '60s were happening. (laughs) I worked with George Carlin and Richie Pryor and I didn't understand what they were smoking or putting in their arms or their mouth. I was in my own bubble and it was a very different place, almost the way The Carpenters were. The Carpenters were in their own bubble. I was sort of like that.

Q - Sometimes people's paths cross. I suppose then you didn't meet Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix?

A - No. (laughs) I think they would have been bored with me. I grew up like a Donny Osmond. I came from a very religious family, even though I'm not religious. I've sort of been on the fringes of show business all throughout my career. (laughs) I'm so not hip. I've never been hip.

Q - As long as you were on the Vegas Strip, did you cross paths with Elvis?

A - Yeah. I met Elvis a couple of times. I went to his show at The Riviera. He came backstage. I think he had to pee. I think that's why he came backstage. (laughs) When you're Elvis Presley, it's hard to find a place to pee. I'm just kidding. But, he came backstage. It was great. He was a great guy. He was a country boy who got caught up in this whole thing. He was a solid guy. Just a really good guy, I thought. That's the only side I saw. The whole Vegas crowd was great. I spent a little bit of time with Wayne Newton. I thought he was a master showman. Just great. Tom Jones was over at Caesar's a lot while I was at The Hilton. I got to know Tom Jones a little bit. I admire him so much. But I always felt that I was a little square in that whole thing.

Q - How about Sinatra? You must have crossed paths with him.

A - I met Sinatra a couple of times at different events. I didn't hang out with that generation of very hip Jazz singers. I'm more like Glen Campbell, John Denver, Bobby Vinton, Tony Orlando, Tom Jones, Engelbert. We all came up together. That sort of thing. Olivia Newton-John, Mac Davis. That's my thing. Dean Martin of course I met. I did his show. I worked with him a little bit. That was another generation.

Q - You did cover material. In that era of the '60s, did any songwriter like Burt Bacharach or Jimmy Webb approach you about doing a song that had yet to be recorded? You were going to be the first.

A - Yeah. It happened three times and I blew it. David Gates of Bread did a session with me. He said, "Man, you could have a hit." And so he showed me a couple of tunes of his. I recorded a couple of tunes. I guess I was too Broadway at that point. I came from Broadway and I was singing too big for recording. I didn't know how to sing in that way. David Gates was singing in a real folky, Pop thing. I couldn't make that sound. Hoyt Axton said, "Man, I got a song for you." He had a hit with Three Dog Night, "Joy To The World". Hoyt Axton has had a lot of records. He had a song called "Have A Nice Day". We went into the studio and he recorded me. I just couldn't make the sound, so it didn't work. Mac Davis gave me a couple of songs. He came into my offices and played me tunes. I said, "Let's do those two songs." So we went up to the studio and it didn't work. I wasn't ready. So, along the way, Snuffy Garrett, who was a record producer in the '70s, he had, with Vicki Lawrence, "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia". So, he was a hit record guy. He said, "I can get you a hit record." And we just couldn't do it. I wasn't ready because I started doing Broadway musicals and that's not good for Pop and Rock and singing, or at least it wasn't back then.

Q - I know what you mean. When you're on Broadway the singing has to be more exaggerated. The singer has to be more flamboyant.

A - Yeah. It's too big for a record. It sounds phony on records. It's too much. You gotta be simple. That simple way of thinking. I talked to Glen Campbell about this along the way. He said, "You know, you're a great live performer. Your live show is incredible." I said, "Well, your recordings are incredible. We just do two different things." Glen always admired the way I performed live and I admired the way he could make records. "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" in '68 was just so right. It's so simple. Tony Orlando is another guy that helped me with a tune. It was a tune called "They Call Her Flame". He tried to help me get a hit and I just couldn't get it. I should've worked hard at records, but it seemed to come more naturally to guys like Tony Orlando and Glen and Bobby Vinton.

Q - You hosted The Tonight Show eighty-seven times.

A - Yeah.

Q - What was that like? When I interviewed Ed McMahon he said you never want to be too good and outshine the original host (Johnny Carson). Did you ever get any feedback on the job you did as host?

A - That's not Carson. He wouldn't do that. He was very respectful of people. Not that he wouldn't be respectful. He was a very private man. I doubt that Ed McMahon really knew Carson that well, quite honestly, or Doc (Severinsen) knew Johnny. Johnny was a very private man. He was very supportive of me and had me back to host a lot. One of the reasons he had me back to host The Tonight Show a lot was that I was on NBC with a series called The Girl With Something Extra with Sally Field. I think NBC was putting the bug in Carson's ears, "Hey! Could you use Davidson on The Tonight Show?" (laughs) That's the way it works. A network promotes its own products. But I was okay at doing it. When you sit in for Carson, Jay Leno will tell you this, you're in Carson's chair. There's his coffee mug with his name on it. There's his pencil with his name on it. Everything is set up for Johnny. Fred de Cordova, the producer, is there wanting you to do it like Johnny. That's understandable. So, you know that you're temporary. And I learned a lot by hosting The Tonight Show. It was great exposure, but it wasn't my show. It was his show. I was just a guest. I realized that. But Johnny was supportive of me. Didn't want to talk a lot. I would see him in makeup before the show. We're sitting side by side, getting our makeup done. He wouldn't say that much. A very quiet guy. You know, he started as a magician. So, I think there's a certain shyness to a magician who develops card tricks so that he can talk to girls in the 5th grade. I think Carson was like that. He was a little nerdy and I think that's what we liked about him. He wasn't wild and crazy like Robin Williams. I don't think you could take Robin Williams five nights a week. Robin Williams is the cherry on top, but the meat and potatoes of being on TV every night for twenty years is a little more low key. Carson was low key.

Q - Pat Sajak also fits that description. Easy going. Smooth.

A - Yeah.

Q - When Robin Williams was on Johnny Carson, jumping around, I would sit there and wonder what's this guy doing?

A - Yeah, but very clever. His mind was just racing. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour. He was able to do that because he was so smart. That sort of energy works better live. What am I saying? He was great on Carson, but you can't do that every night. He's the icing on the cake, but he's not the cake.

Q - You had your own theatre in Branson, Missouri. Do you still have your own theatre?

A - Most of those theatres you just rent 'em. You just rent the building and put your name up front. Jim Stafford did that. Wayne Newton did that. Andy Williams did that. Andy Williams owned his own theatre. Tony Orlando. All of us went to Branson in the early '90s and it was where everybody went. It was set up, these huge 2,000 seat theatres because I think people thought gambling was going to come to the Ozarks. And of course that's the Bible Belt. What were they thinking? Gambling never came. Everybody thought that was the golden egg and it was fine. A wonderful place to vacation in the Lakes Region of the foothills of the Ozarks. Great place, but I wanted something more than that. I was there for like three or four years. I had my own theatre and performed in other theatres. First of all, it was the Bible Belt and I'm not religious. So I didn't quite fit in there. It's a beautiful place. A lot of people stayed there. For me, I'd rather be in New England. I'm living in Sandwich, New Hampshire now. I have my own little showroom in Sandwich, New Hampshire. I just closed my first season. And it's called Club Sandwich (laughs) It's forty-four, forty-five seats. Very small. Little stage. I present other people. It's an entertainment venue. Singer/songwriters, magicians and jugglers. Different entertainment shows. I perform there every Friday and Saturday. I just closed last week. I'm going to open up next June (2022) for season number two and I love living in Sandwich, New Hampshire. I like the New England thing.

Q - You like the change in seasons and the snow.

A - I grew up in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. So I used to talk like Jay Leno 'til I was fourteen and moved away. I had that accent that Jay Leno sort of still has. I grew up in New England. I like the trees. I like the snow. I like the independent attitude of the people in New Hampshire. Live free or die. (laughs)

Q - That's what the license plate says.

A - Yeah. I'm very much a liberal Democrat. They accept me here. New Hampshire is a great place. A lot of people with very strong opinions, but I like that.

Q - So, now you're about to go out on tour? Is it just you? Do you travel with other musicians?

A - I sing and do my own original tunes. I sing with just my guitar. I'm a solo performer. A guy and his guitar. I don't do big places. This year I'm probably just going to perform in my own club, Club Sandwich here in Sandwich, New Hampshire. I am doing a date in New Hope, Pennsylvania at a place called The Rrazz Room. It's a small room, singing with my guitar. It's not a Folk show. It's just me and my guitar and a lot of tunes that I wrote. Some tunes in the '50s and '60s and '70s, but it's a very entertaining show. You know, I'm turning 80 on December 13th (2021). I'm turning 80! (laughs)

Q - You don't talk like someone who is 80, whatever an 80-year-old should talk like.

A - Well, this is the new 80. (laughs)

Q - What do they say? 80 is the new 60?

A - I don't know. I feel pretty old. (laughs) I feel lucky to get up in the morning. I'm so grateful for the career that I've had and I'm still having fun with it. I want to sing until I just fall over and they say, "What happened? He finished. He sang enough and he fell over." (laughs)

Official Website: www.JohnDavidson.com

© Gary James. All rights reserved.



The views and opinions expressed by individuals interviewed for this web site are the sole responsibility of the individual making the comment and / or appearing in interviews and do not necessarily represent the opinions of anyone associated with the website ClassicBands.com.