d***@comcast.net
2006-07-17 20:06:17 UTC
Blues legend Sam Myers, 70, dies
By Carey Miller
***@jackson.gannett.com
Blues musician Sam Myers died today in Dallas. He was 70.
The cause of death was throat cancer, which the award-winning harmonica
player and vocalist had been battling since December 2004.
A native of Laurel, Myers began his musical career in Jackson during
the heyday of Farish Street in the late '40s and early '50s.
After moving to Chicago to attend music school, Myers met and performed
with numerous blues legends, including Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.
He served as drummer for the great Elmore James on a steady basis from
1952-1963.
In 1956 in Jackson, he wrote and recorded his most famous single,
Sleeping in the Ground, a song that has been covered by Eric Clapton,
Robert Cray, Steve Winwood's Blind Faith and others.
Myers spent most of the '60s and '70s performing on the chitlin
circuit, a network of black clubs in and around the South.
In 1986, Myers began his most fruitful musical collaboration with Texas
guitarist Anson Funderburgh, joining his band The Rockets as harmonica
player, vocalist and songwriter. Together they cut a number of albums
over a nearly 20-year period, the latest being 2003's Which Way is
Texas?
Myers' final release was his acclaimed 2004 solo album, Coming from
the Old School.
Funeral arrangements are pending. A memorial is being planned for
Saturday on Farish Street by Jesse Robinson, a fellow Jackson bluesman
and longtime friend of Myers'.
By Carey Miller
***@jackson.gannett.com
Blues musician Sam Myers died today in Dallas. He was 70.
The cause of death was throat cancer, which the award-winning harmonica
player and vocalist had been battling since December 2004.
A native of Laurel, Myers began his musical career in Jackson during
the heyday of Farish Street in the late '40s and early '50s.
After moving to Chicago to attend music school, Myers met and performed
with numerous blues legends, including Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.
He served as drummer for the great Elmore James on a steady basis from
1952-1963.
In 1956 in Jackson, he wrote and recorded his most famous single,
Sleeping in the Ground, a song that has been covered by Eric Clapton,
Robert Cray, Steve Winwood's Blind Faith and others.
Myers spent most of the '60s and '70s performing on the chitlin
circuit, a network of black clubs in and around the South.
In 1986, Myers began his most fruitful musical collaboration with Texas
guitarist Anson Funderburgh, joining his band The Rockets as harmonica
player, vocalist and songwriter. Together they cut a number of albums
over a nearly 20-year period, the latest being 2003's Which Way is
Texas?
Myers' final release was his acclaimed 2004 solo album, Coming from
the Old School.
Funeral arrangements are pending. A memorial is being planned for
Saturday on Farish Street by Jesse Robinson, a fellow Jackson bluesman
and longtime friend of Myers'.