<back - MAGIC SAM - By the mid-fifties, a dramatic sound was being nurtured in Chicago’s West Side clubs. Its gatekeeper was a brash 20-year old named Sam Maghett, who soon acquired the sobriquet Magic Sam. That scene sizzled with fret-burners like Eddy Clearwater, Jimmy Dawkins, Otis Rush, and Freddie King, but Magic Sam stood out with his vibrato-soaked guitar, combined with a gut-wrenching soulful delivery. What was captured in his four Cobra singles was so different, and indeed so magical, they became the models for the essence of West Side Soul.

That first 1957 release, All Your Love b/w Love Me With A Feeling, became an instant Blues classic. The next release was 'Everything Gonna Be Alright b/w Look Whatcha Done'. These tracks, along with Otis Rush’s inspired early outings, bring the dramatic intensity of the 'West Side' sound into clear focus. By the mid fifties, the influence of genuine Chicago giants such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Jimmy Reed had been fully absorbed, but the impact of the highly popular B.B.King from Memphis, with his immaculate technique and Gospel-inflected vocals, was fascinating the up-and-comers. Magic Sam's tremolo-rich staccato finger picking, was something fresh and exciting, combined with his soulful tenor would place him at the cutting edge of bone-chilling Blues. Sam recorded two more Cobra releases in 1958, the first featured All Night Long, containing one of the all-time greatest guitar breaks. His swan song on Cobra was the masterful Easy Baby. The flip was a frenzied piece of greasy Rockabilly, that crowbar hotel lament: 21 Days In Jail. In 1960, Sam signed with Chief Imprint, but those sides hold little interest except as examples of what damage label owners can do when they overtly cater to the pop marketplace. The mesmerizing She Belongs To Me, later reprised along with Eddie Shaw's raspy sax on the Black Magic album, is another exception. There was also a highly effective re-working of Louis Jordan's 'Blue Light Boogie'. Aside from a few sides on Crash Records, recording opportunities were sparse from 1962 until 1966. Magic Sam’s two albums on Delmark became his conduit to enduring legendary, starting with 1967’s majestic West Side Soul, followed up by the equally persuasive Black Magic. Both are essential components to any Blues audio library. West Side Soul displayed the full breadth of Sam’s West Side attack, including That's All I Need, and I Feel So Good. Black Magic included the impassioned What Have I Done, and Freddy King's 'San-Ho-Zay'. Those two seminal releases would cause Magic Sam’s reputation to grow by exponential proportions, and it was reported that Stax was ready to sign him in 1969. However, heart problems had been taking their toll on Magic Sam's health, and he passed on December 1969 at age 32. Magic Sam was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1982 - Gary Tate
MP3 - All Your Love | My Whole Life |