Sammy Masters

Sammy Masters (born July 18, 1930 in Sasakawa , Oklahoma , † March 8, 2013 in Orange , California ) was an American rockabilly singer. His biggest success was Rockin 'Red Wing .

Life

Childhood and youth

Sammy Masters is the son of an oil field worker. According to himself, Master's father went to the nearest town when he was born to get a doctor. When the doctor arrived, Sammy Masters was already born. He became interested in music from an early age. He was influenced by the cowboy singers Gene Autry , Roy Rogers and Tex Fletcher , whom he saw in the cinema as well as the Grand Ole Opry and Bob Wills . At the age of twelve he made his first appearance on radio KVOO. Shortly thereafter, he made an appearance with Johnny Lee Wills, the brother of Bob Wills. In the late 1940s the family moved to California , where he successfully finished his school days. He also played for about six months with country singer Spade Cooley , who was very popular at the time.

Beginnings

His first single, Lost Little Nickel , was recorded on Cormac Records in 1950. After his second record, Crazy River , he was drafted into the army and transferred to Korea , where he took part in the Korean War . When he was released in 1954, he signed a recording deal with 4 Star Records .

Career

His first release there, Turn The Cards Slowly , would later become a hit with Patsy Cline . But Masters was not interested in other country titles, he would rather devote himself to rockabilly. In 1956, the first rockabilly session with guitarist Jimmy Bryant took place, during which the tracks Pink Cadillac and Whop-T-Bop were recorded. It is worth mentioning here that Masters did not play rhythm guitar at the rockabilly session in November 1956, but played and sang double bass . In addition to Masters and Bryant, the background band also consisted of Jerry Miller ( steel guitar ) and Jimmy Randall ( drums ). Other sources cite Ralph Roe as the lead guitarist. A year later the Pink Cadillac was re-released on Modern Records with mixed drums under the name Johnny Todd. Meanwhile, Masters released his next single, the ballad Angel . In the same year he made various appearances in the Town Hall Party , one of the most successful radio and television shows on the west coast. However, he did not make a breakthrough. His last single Jodie , with the B-side If I Could See The World , which was also covered by Patsy Cline, was released in 1957. Disappointed by the failures of the singles, he left 4 Star.

Masters then found a job with American Music as a songwriter . Shortly afterwards, at the request of Terry Fell , he signed with his label Lode Records and released the title Rockin 'Red Wing . The track was recorded in 1927 by country musician Riley Puckett and was written by musician Chattaway. Surprised by the success (the title reached number 64 on the Billboard Pop Charts), he released more records - but this time without success. In 1961, Patsy Cline's Crazy topped the charts. The track was written by Willie Nelson , a good friend of Masters, and the B-side featured Masters song Who Can I Count On? who benefited from the enormous success. Many well-known singers, including Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton , recorded their version of the title. In the same year Masters had founded his own label, on which he continued to release singles in the following years. At the same time he managed a career as a TV and radio presenter. He had a radio show with Johnny Horton until his death and hosted television shows such as Jukebox Saturday Night and Country Music Time in the 1960s and 1970s .

In the 1980s Masters achieved fame especially in Europe as part of the rockabilly revival and performed with other rockabilly stars such as Joe Clay , Merrill Moore and Otis Williams at the Rock'n'Roll Weekend in England . Masters died in Orange, California in 2013 at the age of 82.

Discography

year	title	Record company
1951	Lost Little Nickel / May I Call You Darlin '?	Cormac Records
1956	Pink Cadillac / Some Like It Hot	4 Star Records
1956	Pink Cadillac / What's Up	Modern Records *
1956	Whop-T-Bop / Flat Fleet	4 Star Records
1956	Whop-T-Bop / 2 Rock-A-4	4 Star Records
1957	Angel / My Heart is a Hobo	4 Star Records
1957	Tall Grow the Sycamores / The Drifter	Decca Records
195?	EP fishing rod My Heart Is A Hobo Tall Grows the Sycamores The Drifter	Sammy Masters (4 Star)
approx. 1958/1959	EP Stop the World (And Let Me Off) Pink Cadillac A Wonderful Time Up There Tall Grows the Sycamores	4 Star Records
1958	Jodie / If I Could See the World	4 Star Records
1958	Whop-T-Bop / 2 Rock-A4	Moonglow Records
1958	Pink Cadillac / Some Like It Hot	Moonglow Records
1959	Rockin 'Red Wing / Lonely Weekend	Warner Bros. Records
1960	Rockin 'Red Wing / Lonely Weekend	Lode Records
1960	Charolette (In the Pink Corvette) / Golden Slippers	Lode Records
1960	'Charolette (In the Pink Corvette) / Golden Slippers	Dot records
1961	Never / Pierre the Poodle and the Puppy Dogs	Lode Records
1962	Stick Around Joe / Remind Me Baby	Galahad Records
1963	All Alone in San Antone / Roses Remind Me Of You	Galahad Records
1964	I Fought The Law (And the Law Won) / A Big Man Cried	Kapp Records
1964	Louisiana Jane / Barcelona Baby	Kapp Records
1965	You Can Have Her / You Can Have Her (Instr.)	D&D Records
	The Letter (from South Vietnam) / Little Ben	Galahad G-538
Unpublished titles
	Gone Man Gone Twin Pipes and Pin Stripes'
1959	Rockin 'Red Wing (old version)	Warner Brothers

* Version of Pink Cadillac with mixed drums

Web links

• Sammy Masters at Allmusic (English)
• biography
• Discography with audio samples

Individual evidence

1. ↑ American Roots Music: Rockabilly Guitar Solo Gems: The 1950s
2. ↑ Obituary. Mellow's Log Cabin