Singer, dancer, actor, comedian, impressionist and general all-round entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr released a whole slew of LPs between 1955 and 1984. If you’re looking for some cheap, overlooked funk / soul you could do a lot worse than pick up the above LPs from the 68-70 era. And here’s why:

Pounding drums and brash horns push this blast of heavy soul along very nicely. Written by Mike Post, Turnaround stands head and shoulders above everything else on the Sammy Steps Out album. It was also released on 45, but that’s a lot harder to find than the bargain bin staple LP.

In an attempt to reconnect with the youth Davis signed to Motown for one-off LP, ‘Something For Everyone’ – a great listen all the way through, as you might expect from Motown in 1970. On this cover of the song made famous by Mr Presley, Davis creates a vibe very similar to that of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ LP. Particularly noteworthy since that groundbreaking LP was still a year away.

This medley catches Davis half way between the jazzy big band sound of earlier recordings and full-on funk. The drums that kick the song off are MASSIVE and perfectly ripe for sampling, which according to the whosampledwho.com database hasn’t happened yet. Dang, and I just sold my MPC2000 on eBay.