- Sam "Bluzman" Taylor
Sam "Bluzman" Taylor is an American
blues musician. Born inMobile, Alabama onOctober 25 1934 , Taylor cut his teeth early in music, beginning singing gospel at age 3.His
Long Island connection began in 1957, during his service in theUnited States Air Force . He was stationed at theWesthampton Beach Air Force Base and was only a short haul from the blues mecca of the east end, Flanders, where the Blue Bird Inn was infamous. A warm nest and a dangerous environment, the Blue Bird let nascent guitarist Sam "Bluzman" Taylor learn the ropes. During much the same time, Sam was a prime-ribbed championshipboxer so he learned other ropes, too.After leaving the service in 1959, Sam lived in
Riverhead . His first major pro gig was as Maxine Brown's band leader at theApollo Theater and he never looked back after right his first big #1R&B hit "Funny" . As an artist himself often going under the name Sammy Taylor, he recorded for various labels includingCapitol Records . The author of hundreds of songs, many of them hits and some even gold records like "Do It 'Til You're Satisfied", performed by theBT Express , Sam's handiwork can be heard rendered byFreddie King ,Son Seals ,Jimmy Witherspoon ,Jay and the Americans ,Joey Dee ,Maxine Brown andJoe Tex . Sam also was bandleader/guitarist for the likes ofBig Joe Turner ,The Isley Brothers ,Tracy Nelson ,Otis Redding and more notablySam and Dave .Sam and his partner Bennie Earl wrote two of Sam & Dave's early hits "People in Love" & "Listening For My Name" when the
Florida duo recorded for Roulette Records predating their later success with theStax/Volt movement. Sam was also original member/guitarist ofJoey Dee & The Starliters which is considered to be the first intergrated Rock n Roll band that put their own stamp on the Twist-dance craze with the "Peppermint Twist ". Him alongside fellow StarliterDave Brigatti had a huge influence onThe Rascals which included Dave's little brotherEddie Brigatti . He also was a mentor and wrote some of the first songs forThe Vagrants which included innovative Rock guitaristLeslie West who went on to form legendary Rock trioMountain . After recording & appearing in two movies with the Starliters includingTwo Tickets to Paris , Sam gave up his position to a young, gifted guitarist by the name of James Marshall, who later became known to the world as the most innovative guitarist in Rock history,Jimi Hendrix . At the start of the 1970s, Sam & Bennie were hired as staff writers forThe Beach Boys new record label,Brother Records . But due toBrian Wilson's mental condition which led to the now infamous fire that burned down the studio and all the reels included, this big dream job was tarnished.In the early 1970s, Sam released his classic opus "Tunnels Of My Mind" on the GRT record label. Today, This album has a collector's dream usually being bid on for close to a $1,000 on
ebay .Through the 1970s, Taylor spent his days writing, producing,arranging and teaching more notably for 1970s legendary Funk/Soul group
B.T Express who he became mentor to. Sam can be heard laying down his innovative rhythm guitar work and writing skills on the group's first four albums including one of their biggest hits"Peace Pipe" but unscrupulous business practices and the changes wrought by thedisco era pushed Sam out of the business and off Long Island. Sam has publically voiced the fact that many record labels made broken promises to record him as a artist but chose to keep him behind the scenes out of fear of his own tremendous talent and at the same time, meager portions of the finances. "I always got the Gold plaques but not the Gold stacks" says Sam. In the late 70's, He moved toSanta Monica, California , where he created a scene of his own atVenice Beach that attracted fellow artists likeRickie Lee Jones & good friendAlbert Collins but drugs and medical problems were the challenge. Through the advice of his friend Kidd Squid, he moved toTucson, Arizona where a supportive blues community helped his body and spirit heal as he became the ultimate celebrity of the town which opened the door for his son Bobby Taylor who had a promising career after winning a whopping 13 times at New York's famedApollo Theatre but like his father became victim to drug addiction in the 1980s. Bobby got clean and won fame in Tuscon with his R&B/Soul band The Real Deal which featured cousin Jacques "Showbiz" Taylor and sometimes nephew Lawrence "L*A*W" Taylor-Worrell. Tragically, Bobby died of heart failure in the mid-1990s and that's when Sam realized it was time to get back to his roots -- his family and Long Island. Upon his return and through his grandson L*A*W, Sam discovered that his music was being sampled by rap artists. The song he wrote for B.T Express "Everything That's Good To Ya (Aint Always Good For Ya) has become one of hip-hop's most recognizable and favorite samples thanks to Epmd, Ma$e, Beanie Seagle and more successfully DMX whose first #1 hit "Get At Me Dog" included the song. Originally, actions to sue were formed but after the companies agreed to pay monies owed to Sam TaylorsNow a resident of
Central Islip , Sam "Bluzman" Taylor is widely recognized as the blues' elder statesman there. Since returning,Sam has released five CDs including "Blue Tears", "Voice of the Blues" a live recording from his 2004 Riverhead Blues Fest set, "Bluzman Back Home" and his latest "Portrait: The Funk Side Of Sam". He currently hostsWUSB (FM) 's "Blues With A Feeling" radio show.Sam "Bluzman" Taylor was inducted into the
Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2006 which is second to him being inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame overall. He just recently released his autobiography "Caught In The Jaws Of The Blues". His grandsonL*A*W is becoming well-known in the industry circles for his Hip-Hop/Funk-Rock/R&B hybrid known as "Tha Planet 12 Sound" and for his extensive work with Funk Legend George Clinton as the lead singer of the P-Funk affliated420 Funkmob and singing with troubled British superstar Amy Winehouse and just recently had his songs "Get Hollywood On Em" & "Get Down" played on
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