| "I've Gotta Be Me" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2017 re-release | ||||
| Single bySammy Davis Jr. | ||||
| from the albumI've Gotta Be Me | ||||
| B-side | "Bein' Natural Bein' Me" | |||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriter | Walter Marks | |||
| Producer | Jimmy Bowen | |||
| Sammy Davis Jr. singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"I've Gotta Be Me" is a popular song that appeared in theBroadwaymusicalGolden Rainbow, which starredSteve Lawrence andEydie Gormé. It opened inNew York City at theShubert Theatre on February 4, 1968, and closed just under a year later, on January 11, 1969. The music and lyrics for the musical were composed and written byWalter Marks in 1967; the production featured a book byErnest Kinoy. This song was listed in the musical as "I've Got to Be Me" and, at the end of the first act, it was sung by Lawrence's character, Larry Davis. Lawrence released it as asingle in 1967, and hit #6 on theBillboardEasy Listening chart the following year, with little or no support from traditionalTop 40 radio.
Sammy Davis Jr. recorded the song in 1968 while the musical was still running on Broadway, altering the title slightly to "I've Gotta Be Me", and released it as a single late in the year. This version was a surprise hit for Davis, since "Golden Rainbow" was not among the more successful shows on Broadway that season. Produced byJimmy Bowen, Davis'scover peaked at #11 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart in early 1969 and remained in the Top 40 for 11 weeks.[2] "I've Gotta Be Me" spent seven weeks at #1 on the Easy Listening chart.[3] The song lent its title to Davis's 1968 albumI've Gotta Be Me.
The song has been featured in at least twosoft drinkadvertising campaigns.Welsh pop singerDuffy performed it while riding a bicycle in Europeantelevision advertisements forDiet Coke, beginning in February 2009. The 60 second commercial was first aired in the end break of the2009 BRIT Awards on February 18.[4] A version byRyan Tedder was used byDr Pepper in 2012.[5] The song was used in the 2001 filmFreddy Got Fingered, the 2020 filmTimmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made and the 2021 filmNobody. The song was also used in the 'Live Outlandish' commercial to promote theMitsubishi Outlander in 2021 in Australia.
