I 've Gotta Be Me - wikipedia I 've Gotta Be Me For the albums, see I 've Gotta Be Me ( Sammy Davis, Jr. album ) and I 've Gotta Be Me ( Tony Bennett album ). `` I 've Gotta Be Me '' Single by Sammy Davis, Jr. from the album I 've Gotta Be Me B - side `` Bein ' Natural Bein ' Me '' Released 1968 Format 7 '' ( 45 rpm ) Genre Traditional pop Length 2 : 53 Label Reprise Songwriter ( s ) Walter Marks Producer ( s ) Jimmy Bowen `` I 've Gotta Be Me '' is a popular song that appeared in the Broadway musical Golden Rainbow, which starred Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé. The musical opened in New York City at the Shubert Theatre on February 4, 1968, and closed less than a year later, on January 11, 1969. The music and lyrics for the musical were composed and written by Walter Marks in 1967 ; the production featured a book by Ernest Kinoy. This song was listed in the musical as `` I 've Got to Be Me '', and it was sung by Lawrence 's character Larry Davis at the end of the first act. Lawrence released the song as a single in 1967, and the following year it hit number six on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, with little or no support from traditional Top 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 of the song was a surprise hit for Davis, since the musical was not among the more successful shows on Broadway that season. Produced by Jimmy Bowen, Davis ' cover of the song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1969 and remained in the Top 40 for 11 weeks. This is Davis ' third highest charting single on the Hot 100 in his career ; `` Something 's Gotta Give '' had reached number nine in 1955, while `` The Candy Man '' hit # 1 in 1972. In addition, the song spent seven weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart. The song appears on Davis ' 1968 album, which was also titled I 've Gotta Be Me. Other artists who have recorded or performed `` I 've Gotta Be Me '' include Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Gilbert Price, Della Reese, Stevie Wonder, Tony Bennett, Cory Monteith as his Glee character Finn Hudson, and The Temptations. The song has been featured in at least two soft drink advertising campaigns. It was performed by Welsh pop singer Duffy while riding a bicycle in European television advertisements for Diet Coke beginning in February 2009. The 60 '' commercial was first aired in the end break of the 2009 BRIT Awards on February 18. A version by Ryan Tedder was used by Dr Pepper in 2012. Sammy Davis Jr 's version was used in a 2016 Sky Q advert as well, and in July 2017 the song was used in the trailer for Westworld 's second season. See also List of number - one adult contemporary singles of 1969 ( U.S. ) References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition ( Billboard Publications ), page 164. Jump up ^ Hyatt, Wesley ( 1999 ). The Billboard Book of # 1 Adult Contemporary Hits ( Billboard Publications ), page 70. Jump up ^ Malkin, Marc ( April 21, 2011 ). `` Glee Scoop : Klaine, Finchel, Wemma and More ! ''. E ! Online. E !. Retrieved April 21, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Diet Coke uses Brit awards to launch Duffy ad '' From guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 02 - 19 - 09. Jump up ^ `` Dr. Pepper Celebrates Its Legacy Of Originality With The Launch Of The New ' Always One Of A Kind ' Advertising Campaign, '' Dr Pepper Snapple Group press release, Monday, January 9, 2012. Archived October 16, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. External links Golden Rainbow production info at ibdb.com Single release info at discogs.com Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Sammy Davis Jr. Discography Studio albums Decca Starring Sammy Davis Jr. Just for Lovers Here 's Lookin ' at You Sammy Swings It 's All Over but the Swingin ' Boy Meets Girl Mood to Be Wooed All the Way... and Then Some ! I Gotta Right to Swing Reprise The Wham of Sam Sammy Davis Jr. Belts the Best of Broadway The Sammy Davis Jr. All - Star Spectacular What Kind of Fool Am I and Other Show - Stoppers As Long as She Needs Me Sammy Davis Jr. Salutes the Stars of the London Palladium The Shelter of Your Arms Sammy Davis Jr. Sings Mel Tormé 's `` California Suite '' Sammy Davis Jr. Sings the Big Ones for Young Lovers When the Feeling Hits You ! If I Ruled the World The Nat King Cole Songbook Sammy 's Back on Broadway The Sammy Davis Jr. Show Sammy Davis Jr. Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays Sammy Davis Jr. Sings the Complete ' Dr. Dolittle ' Lonely Is the Name I 've Gotta Be Me Verve Our Shining Hour MGM Sammy Davis Jr. Now That 's Entertainment ! Live albums Sammy Davis Jr. at Town Hall Sammy Davis Jr. at the Cocoanut Grove The Sounds of ' 66 That 's All ! Compilations Capitol Collectors Series Yes I Can ! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection : Live & Swingin ' The Definitive Collection Soundtrack albums Mr. Wonderful Porgy and Bess Robin and the 7 Hoods Golden Boy Sweet Charity Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off Singles `` Inka Dinka Doo '' `` Hey There '' `` And This Is My Beloved '' `` The Birth of the Blues '' `` Something 's Gotta Give '' `` Love Me or Leave Me '' `` That Old Black Magic '' `` Too Close For Comfort '' `` All of You '' `` I Got Plenty o ' Nuttin ' '' `` Baby, It 's Cold Outside '' `` What Kind of Fool Am I ? '' `` Me and My Shadow '' `` Sam 's Song '' `` As Long as She Needs Me '' `` The Shelter of Your Arms '' `` If I Ruled the World '' `` Hello, Dolly ! '' `` Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye '' `` I 've Gotta Be Me '' `` The Candy Man '' `` ( I 'd Be ) A Legend in My Time '' `` Singin ' in the Rain '' `` That 's Entertainment ! '' `` Smoke ! Smoke ! Smoke ! '' Related Rat Pack Will Mastin Trio Sammy Davis Sr. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27ve_Gotta_Be_Me&oldid=851334822 '' Categories : 1967 singles 1968 singles Steve Lawrence songs Sammy Davis Jr. songs Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Songs from musicals 1968 songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Bowen Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Articles with hAudio microformats Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 21 July 2018, at 15 : 51 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote i've got to be me
Answer: Walter Marks