Today we remember the late great blues man Samuel Magic Sam Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969) an American Chicago blues musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter. After moving to Chicago at the age of nineteen, he was signed by Cobra Records and became well known as a bluesman after his first record, All Your Love in 1957. He was known for his distinctive tremolo-guitar playing. After moving to Chicago in 1956, his guitar playing earned bookings at blues clubs on the West Side. Sam recorded for Cobra Records from 1957 to 1959, recording singles including All Your Love and Easy Baby. They did not appear on the record charts, yet they had a profound influence, far beyond Chicagos guitarists and singers. Together with recordings by Otis Rush and Buddy Guy (also Cobra artists), they made a manifesto for a new kind of blues. Around this time Sam also worked briefly with Homesick James Williamson. Sam gained a following before being drafted into the U.S. Army. He served six months in prison for desertion and received a dishonorable discharge. In 1963, he gained national attention for his single Feelin Good (Were Gonna Boogie). After successfully touring the U.S., Britain and Germany, he was signed to Delmark Records in 1967 where he recorded West Side Soul and Black Magic. He also continued performing live and toured with blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite and Sam Lay. Sams breakthrough performance was at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969, which won him many bookings in the U.S. and Europe. His life and career was cut short when he suddenly died of a heart attack in December 1969. He was 32 years old. He is buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. In February 1970, the Butterfield Blues Band played at a benefit concert for Magic Sam, at Fillmore West in San Francisco. Also on the bill were Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite and Nick Gravenites. His guitar style, vocals, and songwriting ability have inspired and influenced many blues musicians ever since. In The Blues Brothers, Jake Blues dedicates the bands performance of Sweet Home Chicago to the late, great Magic Sam. The stage name Magic Sam was devised by Sams bass player and childhood friend Mack Thompson at Sams first recording session for Cobra as an approximation of Maghett Sam. The name Sam was using at the time, Good Rocking Sam, was already being used by another artist. Magic Sam had a different guitar sound, said his record producer, Willie Dixon. Most of the guys were playing the straight 12-bar blues thing, but the harmonies that he carried with the chords was a different thing altogether. This tune All Your Love, he expressed with such an inspirational feeling with his high voice. You could always tell him, even from his introduction to the music.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 07:51:53 +0000
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