Magic Sam
Encyclopedia
Samuel "Magic Sam" Gene Maghett (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969) was an American
Chicago blues
musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi
, United States
, 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.
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 Army. Not a natural soldier, Sam deserted after a couple of weeks' service and was subsequently caught and sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was given a dishonourable discharge on release, but the experience had undermined his confidence and immediate recordings for Mel London
's Chief Records
lacked the purpose of their predecessors.
In 1963, he gained national attention for his single "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)". After successful touring of the US, UK, 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
.
Sam's 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 was 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 band's performance of "Sweet Home Chicago
" to the "late, great Magic Sam".
The stage name, Magic Sam, was devised by Sam's bass player and childhood friend Mack Thompson, at Sam's first recording session for Cobra, from an approximation of "Maghett Sam". The name Sam was using at the time, Good Rocking Sam, was already being used by another artist.
. "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."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
musician. Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada, Mississippi
Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
and Little Walter
Little Walter
Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
. After moving to Chicago at the age of nineteen, he was signed by Cobra Records
Cobra Records
Cobra Records was an independent record label that operated from 1956 to 1959. The label was important for launching the recording careers of Chicago blues artists Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and Buddy Guy and "signaled the arrival of a new generation of [blues] artists and a new sound .....
and became well known as a bluesman after his first record, "All Your Love" in 1957. He was known for his distinctive tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
-guitar playing.
Life and career
After moving to Chicago in 1950, his guitar playing earned bookings at blues clubs in Chicago's 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 Chicago's guitarists and singers. Together with recordings by Otis RushOtis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
and Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
(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 Army. Not a natural soldier, Sam deserted after a couple of weeks' service and was subsequently caught and sentenced to six months imprisonment. He was given a dishonourable discharge on release, but the experience had undermined his confidence and immediate recordings for Mel London
Mel London
Mel London was a songwriter, record producer, and record label owner. He was active in the Chicago blues and R&B scenes in the 1950s and 1960s...
's Chief Records
Chief Records
Chief Records was an independent record label that operated from 1957 to 1964. Best known for its recordings of Chicago blues artists Elmore James, Junior Wells, Magic Sam, and Earl Hooker, the label had a diverse roster and included R&B artists Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen.Chief Records was...
lacked the purpose of their predecessors.
In 1963, he gained national attention for his single "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)". After successful touring of the US, UK, and Germany, he was signed to Delmark Records
Delmark Records
Delmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
in 1967, where he recorded West Side Soul
West Side Soul
West Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the great electric blues albums.-Track listing:# "That's All I Need" - – 3:40# "I Need You So Bad" - West Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the...
and Black Magic
Black Magic (Magic Sam album)
Black Magic is a blues album by Magic Sam released in 1968 by Delmark Records.- Track listing :# "I Just Want A Little Bit"# "What Have I Done Wrong"# "Easy, Baby"# "You Belong To Me"# "It's All Your Fault"# "I Have The Same Old Blues"...
. He also continued performing live and toured with blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite
Charlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
and Sam Lay
Sam Lay
Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...
.
Sam's 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 was buried in the Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Alsip, a suburb slightly southwest of Chicago. As one of the few cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, it is the final resting place of many black celebrities, including...
in Alsip, Illinois. In February 1970, the Butterfield Blues Band played at a benefit concert for Magic Sam, at Fillmore West
Fillmore West
The Fillmore West was an historic music venue in San Francisco, California made famous by concert promoter Bill Graham. Named after Graham's original "Fillmore" location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard, it stood at Market Street and South Van Ness Avenue and was formerly...
in San Francisco. Also on the bill were Mike Bloomfield
Mike Bloomfield
Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
, Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
, Charlie Musselwhite, and Nick Gravenites
Nick Gravenites
Nicholas George Gravenites , with stage names like Nick "The Greek" Gravenites and Gravy, is a blues, rock and folk singer–songwriter, and is best known for his work with Janis Joplin, Mike Bloomfield and several influential bands and names of the generation springing from the 1960s and 1970s...
.
His guitar style, vocals, and songwriting ability have inspired and influenced many blues musicians ever since. In The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
, Jake Blues
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
dedicates the band's performance of "Sweet Home Chicago
Sweet Home Chicago
"Sweet Home Chicago" is a popular blues standard in the twelve bar form. It was first recorded and is credited to have been written by Robert Johnson...
" to the "late, great Magic Sam".
The stage name, Magic Sam, was devised by Sam's bass player and childhood friend Mack Thompson, at Sam's first recording session for Cobra, from an approximation of "Maghett Sam". The name Sam was using at the time, Good Rocking Sam, was already being used by another artist.
Citation
"Magic Sam had a different guitar sound," said his record producer, Willie DixonWillie Dixon
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...
. "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."
Awards and recognition
- 1982 - Blues FoundationBlues FoundationThe Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 175 Blues organizations from various parts of the world....
Blues Music Award: Magic Sam Live (Vintage or Reissue Album of the Year (US)). - 1982 - Blues Foundation Hall of FameBlues Hall of FameThe Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
: Magic Sam inducted (Performer). - 1984 - Blues Foundation Hall of Fame: West Side SoulWest Side SoulWest Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the great electric blues albums.-Track listing:# "That's All I Need" - – 3:40# "I Need You So Bad" - West Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the...
(Classics of Blues Recordings - Albums category) - 1990 - Blues Foundation Hall of Fame: Black MagicBlack Magic (Magic Sam album)Black Magic is a blues album by Magic Sam released in 1968 by Delmark Records.- Track listing :# "I Just Want A Little Bit"# "What Have I Done Wrong"# "Easy, Baby"# "You Belong To Me"# "It's All Your Fault"# "I Have The Same Old Blues"...
(Classics of Blues Recordings - Albums category)
Partial album discography
| Year | Title | Label | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | West Side Soul West Side Soul West Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the great electric blues albums.-Track listing:# "That's All I Need" - – 3:40# "I Need You So Bad" - West Side Soul is a 1967 album by Magic Sam. It is cited by Stephen Thomas Erlewine as one of the... |
Delmark | recorded Chicago 1967 |
| 1968 | Black Magic Black Magic (Magic Sam album) Black Magic is a blues album by Magic Sam released in 1968 by Delmark Records.- Track listing :# "I Just Want A Little Bit"# "What Have I Done Wrong"# "Easy, Baby"# "You Belong To Me"# "It's All Your Fault"# "I Have The Same Old Blues"... |
Delmark | recorded Chicago 1968 |
| 1980 | The Late Great Magic Sam | L+R | recorded 1963–1964, 1969 |
| 1981 | Magic Sam Live | Delmark | live recordings Chicago 1963–1964 & Ann Arbor 1969 |
| 1981 | Magic Touch | Black Magic | live recording Chicago 1966 |
| 1989 | The Magic Sam Legacy | Delmark | out-/alternate takes recorded Chicago 1967–1968 |
| 1991 | Give Me Time | Delmark | solo demo/rehearsal home recordings 1968 |
| 2001 | With a Feeling – The Complete Cobra, Chief & Crash Recordings 1957–1966 | Westside | most pre-Delmark recordings; also available as Out of Luck, P-Vine 2003 |
| 2002 | Rockin' Wild in Chicago | Delmark | live recordings Chicago 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968 |
See also
- Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
- List of blues musicians
- List of Chicago blues musicians
- List of people from Mississippi
- List of people from Louisiana
- List of stage names
- Mississippi Blues TrailMississippi Blues TrailThe Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi Blues Commission, is a project to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. The trail extends from the border of Louisiana in southern Mississippi...