If you're of a certain age, that Tex-Mex countdown can get you ready. Credit producer Stan Kessler for having the savvy to press that bit of studio cut-up; credit Sam the Sham for creating and believing in Wooly Bully, one of the most energetic bits of fun ever to hit vinyl. He had to believe; another pro had taken pencil and paper and demonstrated that the odds against Wooly Bully going anywhere were 9000:1. Well it peaked at #2 on the Billboard chart, stayed in the top 100 18 weeks, sold about 3 million, was Billboard's 'Song of the Year' for 1965, and remains a much covered and merchandised classic. So much for estimates.Mrs. DQ is the true Sam fan from back in the day. I always grooved on Wooly Bully, natch, but didn't know jack about Sam until I started webbing around a couple of days ago. But now I find, having read half a dozen interviews, and his bit of autobiography on his site, I'm sort of in love with the guy. Can't really explain it--guess we'll just have to call it 'insinuating charm,' maybe.
The real Wooly Bully was Sam's cat, so add 'cat person' to his list of credits. He also told one interviewer the Wooly Bully was his lemur--add that to his list of 'shams.' Also in the credits is his other #2 hit, Little Red Riding Hood, (a more-sly-than-it-seems exploration of the wolf's feelings), other more-forgettable novelties, and an album, Sam Hard and Heavy, that didn't sell at the time but is now a cult R&B classic. The album garnered him a 1971 Grammy--for the liner notes (it was Carole King's year). That award points up another of Sam's talents--he's inventive with words. Interviewers like him, he gives them good stuff (see lemur, above).Sam went pretty far into the abyss in the 1970's--the musical career crumbled, and there were lots of drugs, and he pretty much lost it all. But he could have landed in prison, but didn't; and he could have died, but didn't, and when he climbed out of the hole, he gave the credit to God. He's still got religion, and the next few decades have been for gradually getting other stuff back. Someone showed up with his gold lamé stage jacket, stolen years before. Someone else returned the Gibson 355 he'd pawned. A Triumph motorcycle that had been his pride and joy came back a hulk, but he was able to restore it. He's always been getting back with the music. And over time there was healing with the family as well.
On his website recently, Sam identified himself as 'poet and motivational speaker.' The motivational speaking isn't the sort done for Rotary Clubs. Sam talks to the guys at prisons. Seems to have some cred.The poetry is what you might call 'honest:'
Buying back the pieces of my life
That I lost along a journey filled with strife
All the gold one gains cannot repay,
Nor sooth the sorrow of those we hurt along the way
Sam's done his shammin.' Domingo Samudio is one real dude.
Some links:
1. Sam's Official Site: http://www.samthesham.com/
2. Salon interview/article by Steve Burgess: http://www.salon.com/people/rewind/1999/08/21/samsham/index.html
3. Go Memphis article by Bob Mehr: http://m.gomemphis.com/news/2009/Feb/06/samudio-sham-ing-no-more/
4. Discography page by Robert Kruse (read Sam Hard and Heavy liner notes here): http://www.robert-kruse.com/samudio/pages/albums.html
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