Henry Zebrowski

's relationship with Anton LaVey.

By the way, the information about Sammy Davis Jr.

and Anton LaVey mostly comes from this fantastic Rolling Stone article written a couple of years ago called Inside Sammy Davis Jr.

's Secret Satanic Past by Alex Bhattacharjee.

It's a really great read.

Yeah.

But, you know, Simon Davis Jr.

was a singer, not a writer.

Exactly.

He just did a fantastic version of Mr. Bojangles, and his version of Mr. Bojangles was sad.

Yes.

It was either them, Jerry Jeff Walker, or maybe Bob Dylan.

I don't know.

But to understand how and why Sammy Davis Jr.

was so drawn to Satanism, you've got to understand Sammy Davis Jr.

And in understanding Sammy Davis Jr., you might understand why a lot of people are drawn to the Church of Satan.

See, more than even most performers, Sammy Davis Jr.

was driven and defined by a constant and desperate need for acceptance, which came mostly from the complications and humiliations that he had to deal with as a black American born in 1925.

Hailing from Harlem, Sammy Davis Jr.

's parents were both vaudeville entertainers.