For everything that the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory got right, there was just one glaring thing they knew they knew was terrible. Aubrey Woods, who played the candy store owner Bill in the the movie had to perform “The Candy Man,” a song composed especially for the film by co-writers Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. Woods’ rendition was by all accounts lackluster, and Newley in particular agitated for a reshoot of the scene with himself in the role of Bill, but the producers turned him down. Just when all seemed lost, MGM Records honcho Mike Curb stepped in and engaged the famed singer Sammy Davis Jr. to cover it.

On this day, June 10, in 1972, Sammy Davis Jr.’s “The Candy Man” hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it would stay for three weeks. The song would stay among the Hot 100 for thirteen more weeks, eclipsing all previous Davis hits.

Davis was highly reluctant to perform the song, only agreeing as a personal favor to Curb and after he was promised only one take. It became the biggest hit of his career, but Anthony Newley still wasn’t happy with it. Just after Davis released his cover of the song, Newley made his own.