Where does sam the sham live

American rock and roll singer

Domingo Samudio^[2] (b. February 28, in Dallas, Texas, United States), better known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired Americanrock and roll singer. Sam the Sham is known for his camp robe and turban and hauling his equipment in a Packardhearse with maroon velvet curtains.^{[citation needed]} As the front man for the Pharaohs, he sang on several Top 40 hits in the mids, "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs was the number one song of according to Billboard magazine's year-end Hot ^[3] However, the song never reached number one on the weekly charts.

Li'l Red Riding Hood" was another charting song for Samudio.

Biography

Early career

Samudio made his singing debut in second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast. Later, he took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini Lopez.

After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy, where he was known as "Big Sam." He lived in Panama for six years, until his discharge.

Back in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at Arlington State College, now the University of Texas at Arlington.^[4] He recalled: "I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at night.

That lasted about two years, before I dropped out and became a carny."^[5]

Post-Pharaohs career

In late , three women, Fran Curcio, Lorraine Gennaro, and Jane Anderson, joined as the Shamettes. The group traveled to Asia as Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs and the Shamettes and released the album titled The Sam the Sham Revue (originally to be titled Nefertiti by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, which is printed on the inside record labels).

Sam also released a solo album in late , titled Ten of Pentacles.

In , Sam went off on his own, and in , issued an Atlantic album called Sam, Hard and Heavy. Sam also wrote the liner notes on the album, which won the Grammy Award for Best Album Notes in The album featured Duane Allman on guitar, the Dixie Flyers, and the Memphis Horns.

He formed a new band in In the late s, he worked with baritone saxophonist Joe Sunseri and his band, based in New Orleans. The early s found Sam working with Ry Cooder and Freddy Fender on the soundtrack for the Jack Nicholson film The Border.^[2]

After leaving the music business, Sam worked in Mexico as an interpreter and as a mate on small commercial boats in the Gulf of Mexico.^[6] Sam later became a motivational speaker and still makes occasional concert appearances.

He was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in

Personal life

Sam married Louise Smith on August 28, , in Dallas, Texas. They had one son, named Dimitrius Samudio, born on May 28, , in Dallas. They divorced on May 16, , in Dallas.

Most sources refer to Samudio's ancestry as Mexican-American.^[7][8][9] However, a article by the Chicago Tribune described Samudio as being of Basque/Apache descent.^[10] In a conversation with music writer Joe Nick Patoski, Samudio described his grandparents fleeing the Mexican Revolution and settling in Texas, where his family supported themselves working in the cotton fields.^[11]

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs

In Dallas in , Sam formed the Pharaohs, the name inspired from the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the film The Ten Commandments.

The other members of the Pharaohs were Carl Miedke, Russell Fowler, Omar "Big Man” Lopez, and Vincent Lopez (no relation to Omar). In , the group made a record that did not sell and later disbanded.^[12]

In May , Vincent Lopez was playing for Andy and the Nightriders in Louisiana. When their organist quit, Sam joined.

Andy and the Nightriders were Andy Anderson, David A. Martin, Vincent Lopez, and Sam. The Nightriders became house band at The Congo Club, near Leesville, Louisiana. It was here that Sam took the name Sam the Sham from a joke about his lack of ability as a vocalist.^[12]

In June , the Nightriders headed for Memphis, Tennessee, and became the house band at The Diplomat.

In late summer , Andy Anderson and Vincent Lopez left to return to Texas. Sam and bassist David A. Martin replaced them with drummer Jerry Patterson and guitarist Ray Stinnett and changed the band's name to Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Shortly thereafter, the band added saxophonist Butch Gibson.

Breakthrough hit

After paying to record and press records to sell at gigs, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs wound up with the XL label in Memphis.

There they recorded their first and biggest hit, "Wooly Bully", in late ^[13] Once MGM picked up the record, "Wooly Bully" ended up selling three million copies and reaching No. 2 on the BillboardHot on 5 June , at a time when American pop music charts were dominated by the British Invasion.^[2] It was awarded a gold disc.^[14]Leonard Stogel was their manager.

Although "Wooly Bully" never reached No. 1, it lingered on the Hot for 18 weeks, the most weeks for any single within the calendar year , 14 of which were in the top The record achieved the distinction of becoming the first Billboard "Number One Record of the Year" not to have topped a weekly Hot and remained the only one for 35 years, until Faith Hill's "Breathe", Lifehouse's "Hanging by a Moment", and Dua Lipa's "Levitating" in , , and , respectively.^[15][16]

The Pharaohs' next releases – "Ju Ju Hand" (No.

26 US, Canadian No. 31) and "Ring Dang Doo" – were minor successes.

New lineup and second hit

In late , 11 months after "Wooly Bully", David A. Martin, Jerry Patterson, Ray Stinnett, and Butch Gibson left over a financial dispute.

Sam's manager, Leonard Stogel, discovered Tony Gee & the Gypsys at the Metropole Cafe in Times Square, New York City and brought them on as the new Pharaohs.

The band now, besides Sam, was Tony "Butch" Gerace (bass guitar and vocals), Frankie Carabetta (keyboards, saxophone and vocals), Billy Bennett (drums and percussion), and Andy Kuha (guitar and vocals). This new set of Pharaohs recorded "Li'l Red Riding Hood".

Sam the sham facebook: Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs isn’t just a tongue-twister of a name—it’s also the moniker of one of the most well-known garage rock bands. Known for their novelty songs and middle eastern-style.

On the Hot , "Lil' Red Riding Hood" began its two-week peak at No. 2 the week of August 6, , just as another fairy tale title, Crispian St. Peters' "The Pied Piper", ended its third and final week there at No. 4.

A series of mostly novelty tunes followed, all on the MGM label, keeping the group on the charts into Titles included "The Hair on My Chinny Chin Chin" (US No.

22, Canadian No. 13), "How Do You Catch a Girl" (US No. 27, Canadian No. 12), "I Couldn't Spell&#;!!*!", and "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" (US No. 54).

Discography

Albums

As Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs:^[17]

• Wooly Bully (June ) MGM E (Mono)/SE (Stereo)
• Their Second Album (November ) MGM E/SE
• On Tour (March ) MGM E/SE
• Li'l Red Riding Hood (July ) MGM E/SE
• The Best of Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs (February ) MGM SE
• The Sam the Sham Revue [titled Nefertiti in Canada] (October ) MGM E/SE
• Pharaohization: The Best of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs () Rhino

As Sam the Sham:

• Ten of Pentacles [inside labels read "The 10 of Penticles" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs] (February ) MGM E/SE
• Won't Be Long () Samara Productions, Inc.

  SAMA

As Sam Samudio:

As Sam and Charity:

• Running With the Rabbits ()

Singles

As Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs:

As Sam the Sham:

As Sam Samudio:

References

External links