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Magic Sam – The Magic Sam Legacy
Delmark DD 651 (1997)

The music on this CD consists entirely of previously un-issued material most of which was recorded at the same sessions that produced Magic Sam’s two legendary albums, West Side Soul and Black Magic. Both of these albums are now recognized as blues classics; West Side Soul was chosen by the readers of Living Blues Magazine as one of the top ten blues albums of all time and both received W.C. Handy awards in the classic blues album category.

1. I Feel So Good (Boogie Chillun) (2:30)
2. Lookin' Good (2:58)
3. Walkin' By Myself (3:47)
4. Hoochie Coochie Man (2:43)
5. That Ain't It (2:47)
6. That's All I Need (3:29)
7. What Have I Done Wrong (3:20)
8. I Just Want A Little Bit (3:12)
9. Everything's Gonna Be All Right (4:04)
10. Keep On Doin' What You're Doin' (2:52)
11. Blues For Odie Payne (4:44)
12. Easy Baby (4:26)
13. Keep On Lovin' Me Baby (3:23)


All compositions by Magic Sam except
1) John Lee Hooker, PD
3) James A. Lane, Arc Music, BMI
4) Willie Dixon, Hoochie Coochie Music, BMI
5) Jimmy Rogers, Arc Music, BMI
8) Roscoe Gordon, Bab-Roc Music, BMI
13) Otis Rush, Conrad Music, BMI

Recorded in Chicago on February 6, 1966 (tracks 1 & 2), October 18 & 25, 1967 (tracks 3–6), October 23, 1968 (tracks 7-9 & 12) and November 6, 1968 (tracks 10, 11 & 13)

Magic Sam
The Magic Sam Legacy
Delmark DD-651

Magic Sam, vocals and guitar, with:

on 1 and 2,
Eddie Shaw, tenor sax
Mac Thompson, bass
Robert Richey, drums

on 3 through 6,
Shakey Jake, harmonica (except 6)
Mighty Joe Young, guitar
Mac Thompson, bass
Odie Payne, III, drums

on 7 through 13,
Mighty Joe Young, guitar
Eddie Shaw, tenor sax
Lafayette Leake, piano
Mac Thompson, bass
Odie Payne, Jr., drums

Supervision/Robert G. Koester (except 1 and 2 which were supervised by Bill Lindeman and Shakey Jake)
CD Production/Steve Wagner

Recorded in Chicago at MBS Studio on February 6, 1966 (1 and 2),
at Sound Studio by Stu Black on October 18, 1967 (3 through 6),
and at Sound Studio by Dave Antler on October 23, 1968 (7 through 9) and November 6, 1968 (10 through 13)

Cover photo/Jack Bradley
Other photos: Close up/Tom Copi
Film Strip/Ray Flerlage
Payne/Robert G. Koester

"We dedicate this next tune to the late, great Magic Sam -- Sweet Home Chicago!"
--dialogue from the film The Blues Brothers

Liner notes from Bob Koester

It's painful to write about Magic Sam if you spent any amount of time with him. The fierce power of his music was not reflected in his happy-go-lucky personality. Playing with his kids, barbecuing ribs in his back yard on a West Side summer's day, tending bar at the L&A in the afternoon or playing there at night -- he was always the same man.

He acted as though he hadn't a care in the world but, tragically, just as he was on the brink of full recognition....as he planned the recording sessions for the third Delmark album which would enable him to move up to a major label....as he got rid of a manager who had refused to let him return after a coronary incident on the road....as he signed on with Dick Waterman for management and booking....as the sun rose one Sunday morning, complaining of fatigue, he lay down to rest and died of a heart problem of which he was only recently aware.

Samuel Maghett's early life is a classic tale of birth (Feb. 14, 1937) into a sharecropper family in Mississippi (near Grenada) that moved to Chicago (1950) not long after he started playing guitar. He met Shakey Jake, started playing in bars and eventually recorded for Cobra, Chief and Crash Records. I first heard Magic Sam on one of his great Cobra 45s, later in person at the original Alex Club at Roosevelt and Loomis on Chicago's West Side c. 1962. It was a spectacular entrance -- Muddy Waters called him up to the bandstand. Sam tripped on an electric cord and sparks flew! His playing and singing were even more electrifying! From time to time we caught him at various West Side spots such as the Alex or Sylvio's. and finally, in a tiny impoverished bar at Chicago and Milwaukee, he signed a Delmark contract.

Some of the spirit of Sam in the studio is reflected in some of the talk we've kept for this album. He was almost nonchalant about his talent. He didn't seem to have to work laboriously at his art -- it flowed easily from a guy who just surrounded himself with "the best musicians in the world" and let it pour forth. Delmark had only recently released the first LP of a working Chicago blues band playing as they did in a club: Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmark 612) by Junior Wells and the mellow Buddy Guy house band at Theresa's. It had been well-received and started an avalanche of LP blues recording activity in Chicago for local, national and international labels. But the stinging, biting, rough-and-ready West Side guitar-dominated sound of a band such as Magic Sam's was bound to be less easily received by Delmark's clientele of young white blues fans who were phasing into blues from folk music. WRONG! I wasn't listening to pop music. Electric rock based heavily on British interest in South Side Chicago blues, Cream, Big Brother, The Grateful Dead, and the early daring Albert King bookings at San Francisco rock ballrooms had already opened a lot of minds and ears.

West Side Soul (Delmark 615), that first album, got a few breaks in the rock media. Perhaps the distinctive cover design by Zbigniew Jastrzebski helped. Rolling Stone, whose blues coverage was usually limited to obituaries, gave it a rave review! Cheetah, published by a chain of rock ballrooms coast-to-coast, ran a cover feature! Word-of-mouth approbation by Canned Heat (certainly the best blues-educated American rock band), John Mayall, and Janis Joplin helped the cause by talking up the album. Delmark distribution was pretty spotty then but it got better. There was even a photo layout by Chicago's great Skrebneski in Coq depicting a young lady divesting herself under the influence of the album, with all sidemen credited!

Dick Waterman and his secretary Bonnie Raitt undertook to book Sam, who managed to make it to L.A. for his opening at the Ash Grove with his leg in a cast. Blues record distribution was particularly spotty there and sales were never commensurate with the reputation Sam had with the media. But someone bought up Shakey Jake's management contract with Sam, made a call to sever the relationship with Waterman and another to try to sever with Delmark so Sam's further bookings were in Chicago ghetto bars (the very few North Side white blues bars of that time rarely booked blacks) or play-for-the-door gigs in California. Sam was the intro act for Charlie Musselwhite when he was asked to the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. The manager declined at first but Sam squeezed it in when John Fishel suggested that Sam play with a pickup band from Chicago between tightly scheduled flights from California. Of course Sam had worked with enough bassists and drummers to afford a competent band per square mile of West Side Chicago and no apologies were necessary for his playing on the Magic Sam Live album (Delmark 645) which is partly from that hurried concert.

In spite of attempts by his manager for Sam to no-show or cancel recording sessions, a second album, Black Magic (Delmark 620), was issued and relations with Dick Waterman and Delmark improved. We agreed to early recording of the third album followed by release from his Delmark contract so Sam could go with Stax one Friday night. I typed up the release on Saturday. On Monday, I got a call from the funeral home. Samuel Maghett had passed away on December 1st, 1969.

Sam's funeral sadly paid little attention to his career. Otis Clay sang beautifully. Dick Waterman and numerous blues artists were there.

The present album is made up of material recorded at Sam's very fruitful sessions for West Side Soul and Black Magic as well as two tracks previously cut by Bill Lindeman and Shakey Jake for an aborted venture which were not included on the Sweet Home Chicago anthology (Delmark 618) because they had been remade for West Side Soul.

As we put this album to bed, word comes of the passing of perhaps the greatest blues drummer of all time, Odie Payne, Jr. Over the years his jazz-based drumming was heard with virtually every Chicago bluesman: Tampa Red, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Magic Sam, J.B. Lenore, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Elmore James, and many others. We have taken the liberty of dedicating one of the songs on this album to him.

- Robert G. Koester

Other Delmark albums of interest:
Magic Sam
West Side Soul (615)
Black Magic (620)
Live (645)
Give Me Time (654)
Sweet Home Chicago (618) with Magic Sam, Luther Allison, Louis Myers and others
Blues Guitar Greats (697) with Magic Sam, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Luther Allison and
others
Otis Rush
Cold Day In Hell (638)
So Many Roads, Live In Concert (643)
Luther Allison
Love Me Mama (625)
Junior Wells
Hoodoo Man Blues (612) with Buddy Guy
Southside Blues Jam (628) with Buddy Guy and Otis Spann
On Tap (635) with Sammy Lawhorn and Phil Guy
Blues Hit Big Town (640) with Muddy Waters and Elmore James

ALL MUSIC GUIDE review by Lindsay Plater

The 13 tracks on Magic Sam Legacy (1997) are culled from material initially discarded from his two Delmark studio LPs West Side Soul (1967) and Black Magic (1968). The principal caveat being the John Lee Hooker inspired "I Feel So Good" -- liberally copping Hooker's "Boogie Chillun" -- and the spirited instrumental "Lookin' Good," both of which date back to 1966. The mid-tempo "Walkin' by Myself" and the indispensable "Hoochie Coochie Man" are among the best of the West Side Soul related numbers. Shakey Jake (harmonica) blows powerful harp, perfectly complementing Magic Sam's (guitar/vocals) nimble fretwork. The guitarist provides blistering yet purposeful interjections setting the standard in terms of emotive Westside Chicago blues. "That Ain't It" is an exceedingly soulful selection revealing Sam's R&B leanings and underrated vocal prowess. "I Just Want a Little Bit" swings just as solidly as the Black Magic version, with this rendering sporting a slightly looser reading. The ringing tremolo effect on "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" makes for one of the more interesting outtakes, sporting a few tasty runs from the legendary Lafayette Leake (piano). His style recalls earlier contributions as a staff musician for Chess Records, where he played a significant role on sessions from Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf among others. The free-form nature of "Blues for Odie Payne" -- the drummer on over half the material presented here -- gives not only Sam a perfect platform for his string-bending and fiery fretboard antics, but likewise allows Eddie Shaw (tenor sax) to interpolate some equally clever melodic support. As the recorded legacy of Magic Sam was tragically curtailed when he passed in 1969 at the age of 32, any and all titles featuring Sam as a leader could be considered essential. While recent converts might be best advised to start with either West Side Soul or Black Magic, Magic Sam Legacy (1997) is a perfect companion volume, serving artist and enthusiast exceptionally well.

The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings said "Legacy may be coming in a bit high for a record that relies heavily on recycled material .... Although it evinces little of the direction he was trying to pursue, this is nevertheless a wormhole addition to his discography".


Magic Sam (Samuel Maghett) was at the forefront of the new electric blues movement in Chicago that is often called the West Side style, because many of the artists often performed or recorded on the West Side, although some lived on the South Side. A vibrant and dynamic performer and an exceptional singer and guitarist, Sam was poised to take his career to a new national level when his life was cut short by a heart attack at the age of 32. Born on Feb, 14, 1937, in a rural community east of Grenada, Mississippi, that now lies submerged beneath Grenada Lake, Sam, unlike most of his blues contemporaries, was raised in a community where fiddle music, hoedowns and square dances held sway over the blues among the African American population. Samuel Maghett carried these musical influences with him to Chicago in 1950. Blues guitarist Syl Johnson, who later became a nationally known soul singer, recalled that Sam was playing “a hillbilly style” at the time, and Johnson began teaching him blues and boogies. Also influenced by the boogie of John Lee Hooker, Sam developed a house-rocking blues style unparalleled in its rhythmic drive; it may well have had roots in the dance tempos of the reels and breakdowns he learned in Grenada, and he even recorded a “Square Dance Rock” in Chicago. Sam was better known, however, for the heartfelt vocals and stinging guitar work of his 1957-58 blues recordings produced by Willie Dixon for the Cobra label on the West Side such as “All Your Love” and “Easy Baby.” After performing under several stage names, he had settled on “Magic” Sam-to rhyme with his surname. The youthful energy and spirit of Sam, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, and Freddie King modernized Chicago blues into an explosive, electrifying new medium in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Sam remained a popular nightclub act during the 1960s and his star was on the rise after recording two acclaimed albums for Delmark Records and turning in legendary festival performances in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Europe, but he died of a heart attack on December 1, 1969. His music has continued to influence generations of blues, R&B, and rock musicians.

— Jim O’Neal
www.msbuestrail.org
www.stackhouse-bluesoterica.blogspot.com

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Magic Sam

Editor’s Note: Tomorrow marks the 47th anniversary of the all-too-early death of a West Side Chicago guitar master. In honor of his gifted influence on the world of electric blues music, we offer 10 things you may not know about Samuel Maghett, better known to the world as Magic Sam.

1. Samuel Gene Maghett was born in Grenada County, Mississippi on February 14th, 1937, but his birthplace now lies submerged beneath Grenada Lake. He spent his youngest years in Hendersonville, and that town, along with Redgrass and Graysport, were flooded when he was still very young. The Army Corps of Engineers constructed a total of four lakes to help control flooding along the Yazoo River Basin as a direct result of the Great Flood of 1927.

2. Willie Dixon once said, “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.” That may have been due to the influences of his youth. Where Sam was raised, square dances and fiddle music were the popular fare of the African American communities. When he first moved to Chicago, blues guitarist Syl Johnson, who was his next door neighbor, helped teach him blues and boogie music which he adapted into his already, “hillbilly style.”

3. While there is some debate about when Magic Sam actually moved to the Windy City, (Wikipedia states 1956, while his Mississippi Blues Trail marker and Syl Johnson both say six years earlier), there is no argument that he was already an accomplished guitarist when he arrived. He spent hours in his youth creating and playing diddley bows, cigar box guitars, and anything with strings that he could play. His obsession with music far outweighed his interest in farming with his share cropper family, which garnered him whippings, and later beatings, from his father. Neighbors eventually reached out to members of Maghett’s family in Chicago, and his Aunt Lily, along with her husband, the great harmonica player, “Shakey Jake” Harris, intervened and brought the young man North.

4. Even at his tender age, Magic Sam wasted no time in diving headlong into the music scene upon his arrival. Whether it was in the Maxwell Street Market or the notorious blues clubs of the time, he was known to cut heads with the likes of Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Freddie King, and Bo Diddley. He learned the Chicago style and combined it with his hillbilly musical roots, the sounds of the Delta, and even some Memphis influences, which created, in him, a force to be reckoned with.

5. While the major sound of Chicago’s electric blues of the 50s and 60s was coming from the city’s South Side, artists such as Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Buddy Guy were the vanguards of a new movement. These were the creators of the West Side sound, which brought screaming electric guitars to the forefront of the music. Although Guy and Rush may have been more flamboyant, Sam was undisputedly the most visceral. His over the top string bends, combined with a voice that could make the great Bobby “Blue” Bland cry, brought a power and soulful feeling never before heard. The West Side guitar heroes like Sam, were major influences on white artists that followed, including Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jeff Beck, and Duane Allman.

6. Maghett’s life was filled with bad luck and near misses. Chess Records passed on him. He found out the name he had been using, “Good Rockin’ Sam,” was already being used by another artist, hence the change in his professional moniker. Although his initial recordings on the Cobra label were well received in Chicago, they didn’t fair as well outside the city. To add insult to injury, shortly after he made those recordings, Cobra went out of business, and Sam was drafted into the Army. Having no more interest in being a soldier than he did in being a farmer, he deserted shortly after his induction. That decision brought about a dishonorable discharge and six months in prison. Upon his release he recorded on the Chief Records label, but the entire Army debacle had severely undermined his confidence and emotional state. It was also a lull period, at that time, in blues music as a whole. The heyday of the 1950s was done, and the 60s folk revival was still years away. Rock and Roll was the music of the time, and Sam struggled for several years. He was also the victim of horrendous management throughout his career.

magic-sam-black-magic7. In 1962, he made an “electrifying” entrance to the stage. It was during a Muddy Waters performance at the original Alex Club, on Chicago’s West Side. Waters called for the young man to join him on the stage, and in his haste, Sam tripped over an electric cord and sent sparks flying. Delmark Records founder, Bob Koester, was in the audience that night, and later said, “His playing and singing were even more electrifying.” It was on the Delmark label, six years later that Magic Sam recorded what would become, arguably, one of the greatest blues albums ever recorded; West Side Soul.

8. Even with the incredible success of West Side Soul, it wasn’t Sam’s favorite album. Which one was? The follow-up release on the Delmark label, Black Magic. He was finally believing in himself and his abilities once again. After recording this second LP for Koester and company, he not only thought it was the best album he’d ever recorded, he said that it was, “the best album I’ve heard.” Recorded in October and November of 1968, Black Magic was released just days before Sam’s death.

9. When it came to “Magic” in Chicago, Sam wasn’t the only one to bear that name. Fellow Grenada, Mississippian, and childhood friend, Morris Holt, first tried out his chops in Chicago in the mid 1950s. Originally a piano player, he switched to guitar after losing a finger in a cotton gin accident. When he arrived in Chi-town, Sam dubbed him “Magic Slim,” and took him on as a bass player in his own band. Slim’s skills weren’t quite up to par with the artists in the Chicago scene at the time, and he went home to Mississippi. He returned in the mid 1960s, forming his band, The Teardrops, and made the “Magic” name live on, until his death in 2013.

10. Just when things were finally looking up for Magic Sam, he died, suddenly, of a heart attack on December 1st, 1969, at the age of 32. As a final twist of fate, Koester had wished Sam his best, and was making plans to release him from the Delmark label to record for Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee.

https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2016/11/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-magic-sam/