When Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote the songs for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, they had one person in mind to perform the future classic song The Candy Man- Sammy Davis, Junior. Sammy was excited and eager to sing it, but the movie's producers didn't agree. They resisted the pleas of the songwriters and chose Aubrey Woods instead.
The songwriters and Sammy would get the last laugh, however. While Wonka and its soundtrack initially underperformed, Sammy took his version of the song to the top of the charts.
