Sammy Lawhorn
Encyclopedia
Sammy David Lawhorn was an American
Chicago blues
guitarist
. He is best known for his membership of Muddy Waters
band, although his guitar work accompanied many other blues
musician
s including Otis Spann
, Willie Cobbs
, Eddie Boyd
, Roy Brown
, Big Mama Thornton
, John Lee Hooker
, James Cotton
, and Junior Wells
. He became the most frequently recorded blues sideman of his generation.
, Arkansas
. His parents soon separated with his mother re-marrying, leaving the young Lawhorn cared for by his grandparents. Nailing some baling twine
to the side of their home he made his own diddley bow
. Frequently visiting his mother and stepfather in Chicago
, they bought him a ukulele
to play, followed in turn by an acoustic
and finally electric guitar
. By the age of fifteen, Lawhorn was proficient enough to accompany Driftin' Slim
on stage, and with further guidance from Sonny Boy Williamson II
, began playing with him on the King Biscuit Time
radio program.
Lawhorn was conscripted
in 1953 and served in the United States Navy
where, on a tour of duty in Korea
, he was injured by enemy fire during aerial reconnaissance. He continued in service and was discharged
in 1958, when he moved to Memphis, Tennessee
. There he undertook recording
sessions with The "5" Royales, Eddie Boyd
, Roy Brown
and Willie Cobbs
. An argument arose with the latter over the writing credits for the song "You Don't Love Me
." Finding work on his own in Chicago in 1958, Lawhorn soon relocated, despite having a guitar stolen at one of his early club
performances.
By the early 1960s, Lawhorn had found regular work as a club sideman
to Junior Wells
, Otis Rush
and Elmore James
, which led to him sitting in with Muddy Waters
band on a couple of occasions. By October 1964, Lawhorn was invited to join Waters band on a full time basis. Over the next decade, he subsequently played on a number of Waters' album
s including Live At Mister Kelly's, The London Muddy Waters Sessions, The Woodstock Album, and Folk Singer
.
Lawhorn's guitar work also featured when Waters' band supplied backing to John Lee Hooker
, Big Mama Thornton
and Otis Spann
. Lawhorn's use of the tremolo arm
on his guitar, and his overall playing expertise, saw him later credited by Waters as the best guitarist he ever had in his band. However, Lawhorn's career started to be hampered by his drinking. Variously passing out
on stage over his amplifier, off stage whilst sitting in clubs, or missing shows altogether, it saw Waters lose patience and fire Lawhorn in 1973. He was replaced by Bob Margolin
.
Lawson simply returned to playing in Chicago clubs, and remained in the recording industry with appearances on Junior Wells
' On Tap, plus James Cotton
's Take Me Back (1987). He also supplied his guitar skills to recorded work by Koko Taylor
, Jimmy Witherspoon
, Little Mack Simmons
, and L. C. Robinson
. His work in several Chicago haunts saw him play alongside his childhood idols in T-Bone Walker
and Lightnin' Hopkins
. Assistance proffered by Lawhorn to up and coming musicians of the time, saw John Primer
become a disciple.
A combination of alcoholism
and arthritis
started to cause Lawhorn's health to fail. The latter was contributed to when he was bizarrely thrown from a third floor window by a burglar
, which resulted in Lawhorn breaking
both his feet and ankles.
Lawhorn died in April 1990, at the age of 54, although his demise was described on his death certificate as by natural causes
.
recordings that featured Lawhorn's guitar work:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. He is best known for his membership of Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
band, although his guitar work accompanied many other blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s including Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
, Willie Cobbs
Willie Cobbs
Willie Cobbs is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his song, "You Don't Love Me"....
, Eddie Boyd
Eddie Boyd
Edward Riley Boyd known as Eddie Boyd was an American blues piano player, born on Stovall's Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States.-Life and career:...
, Roy Brown
Roy Brown (blues musician)
Roy James Brown was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll music. His "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. In addition,...
, Big Mama Thornton
Big Mama Thornton
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
, John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
, and Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
. He became the most frequently recorded blues sideman of his generation.
Biography
Lawhorn was born in Little RockLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. His parents soon separated with his mother re-marrying, leaving the young Lawhorn cared for by his grandparents. Nailing some baling twine
Baling twine
Baling twine or baler twine is a small diameter sisal or synthetic twine used to bind a quantity of fibrous material into a more compact and easily stacked form. Load strengths range near 350 lbs....
to the side of their home he made his own diddley bow
Diddley bow
The diddley bow is a string instrument of African origin made popular in America, probably developed from instruments found on the Ghana coast of west Africa. The diddley bow is rarely heard outside the rural south...
. Frequently visiting his mother and stepfather in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, they bought him a ukulele
Ukulele
The ukulele, ; from ; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings....
to play, followed in turn by an acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and finally electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. By the age of fifteen, Lawhorn was proficient enough to accompany Driftin' Slim
Driftin' Slim
Driftin' Slim was an African American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.Born Elmon Mickle in Keo, Arkansas, he not only recorded as Driftin' Slim, but also as Model 'T' Slim and under his real name...
on stage, and with further guidance from Sonny Boy Williamson II
Sonny Boy Williamson II
Willie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
, began playing with him on the King Biscuit Time
King Biscuit Time
King Biscuit Time is the longest-running daily American radio broadcasts in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, United States and has won the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcasting excellence and is currently broadcast from the KFFA studio located in...
radio program.
Lawhorn was conscripted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...
in 1953 and served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
where, on a tour of duty in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, he was injured by enemy fire during aerial reconnaissance. He continued in service and was discharged
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
in 1958, when he moved to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. There he undertook recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
sessions with The "5" Royales, Eddie Boyd
Eddie Boyd
Edward Riley Boyd known as Eddie Boyd was an American blues piano player, born on Stovall's Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States.-Life and career:...
, Roy Brown
Roy Brown (blues musician)
Roy James Brown was an American R&B singer, songwriter and musician, who had an influence on the early development of rock and roll music. His "Good Rocking Tonight" was covered by Wynonie Harris, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Pat Boone, and the rock group Montrose. In addition,...
and Willie Cobbs
Willie Cobbs
Willie Cobbs is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his song, "You Don't Love Me"....
. An argument arose with the latter over the writing credits for the song "You Don't Love Me
You Don't Love Me (Willie Cobbs song)
"You Don't Love Me" is a blues song recorded by Willie Cobbs in 1960. It is based on an earlier song and has become a "blues classic" that has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of performers.-Earlier song:...
." Finding work on his own in Chicago in 1958, Lawhorn soon relocated, despite having a guitar stolen at one of his early club
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
performances.
By the early 1960s, Lawhorn had found regular work as a club sideman
Sideman
A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...
to Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
, Otis Rush
Otis Rush
Otis Rush is a blues musician, singer and guitarist. His distinctive guitar style features a slow burning sound and long bent notes...
and Elmore James
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, which led to him sitting in with Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
band on a couple of occasions. By October 1964, Lawhorn was invited to join Waters band on a full time basis. Over the next decade, he subsequently played on a number of Waters' album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s including Live At Mister Kelly's, The London Muddy Waters Sessions, The Woodstock Album, and Folk Singer
Folk Singer
Folk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
.
Lawhorn's guitar work also featured when Waters' band supplied backing to John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Big Mama Thornton
Big Mama Thornton
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
and Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
. Lawhorn's use of the tremolo arm
Tremolo arm
A whammy bar, tremolo arm/bar, or vibrato arm/bar is a component of a guitar, used to add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece...
on his guitar, and his overall playing expertise, saw him later credited by Waters as the best guitarist he ever had in his band. However, Lawhorn's career started to be hampered by his drinking. Variously passing out
Syncope (medicine)
Syncope , the medical term for fainting, is precisely defined as a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery due to global cerebral hypoperfusion that most often results from hypotension.Many forms of syncope are...
on stage over his amplifier, off stage whilst sitting in clubs, or missing shows altogether, it saw Waters lose patience and fire Lawhorn in 1973. He was replaced by Bob Margolin
Bob Margolin
Bob Margolin is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is "Steady Rollin'".-Biography:Bob Margolin was born and raised in Brookline...
.
Lawson simply returned to playing in Chicago clubs, and remained in the recording industry with appearances on Junior Wells
Junior Wells
Junior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
' On Tap, plus James Cotton
James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
's Take Me Back (1987). He also supplied his guitar skills to recorded work by Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings....
, Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
, Little Mack Simmons
Little Mack Simmons
Little Mack Simmons was an African American, Chicago blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.-Biography:...
, and L. C. Robinson
L. C. Robinson
L. C. Robinson was an American blues singer, guitarist, and fiddle player. He played a stand-mounted, solid-body, electric steel guitar, the sort often heard in Western Swing bands...
. His work in several Chicago haunts saw him play alongside his childhood idols in T-Bone Walker
T-Bone Walker
Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
and Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' Hopkins
Sam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
. Assistance proffered by Lawhorn to up and coming musicians of the time, saw John Primer
John Primer
John Primer is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist.-Biography:He played guitar at Theresa's, a club in Chicago, between 1974 and 1980. He was influenced by Muddy Waters' former sideman, Sammy Lawhorn, who taught him to play slide guitar...
become a disciple.
A combination of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
started to cause Lawhorn's health to fail. The latter was contributed to when he was bizarrely thrown from a third floor window by a burglar
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, which resulted in Lawhorn breaking
Bone fracture
A bone fracture is a medical condition in which there is a break in the continuity of the bone...
both his feet and ankles.
Lawhorn died in April 1990, at the age of 54, although his demise was described on his death certificate as by natural causes
Death by natural causes
A death by natural causes, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is one that is primarily attributed to natural agents: usually an illness or an internal malfunction of the body. For example, a person dying from complications from influenza or a heart attack ...
.
Selected discography
The following list represents a range of albumAlbum
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
recordings that featured Lawhorn's guitar work:
- Folk SingerFolk SingerFolk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
(1964) - Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"... - Blues is Where It's At (1966) - Otis SpannOtis SpannOtis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
- Live at the Café Au Go-Go (1966) - John Lee HookerJohn Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
- The Bluesmen of the Muddy Waters Chicago Blues Band (1966) - Various
- Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Waters Blues Band (1966) - Big Mama ThorntonBig Mama ThorntonWillie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
and Muddy Waters - Brass and the Blues (1967) - Muddy Waters
- The Bluesmen of the Muddy Waters Blues Band, Volume 2 (1968) - Various
- Ball 'n' Chain (1968) - Big Mama Thornton
- They Call Me Muddy Waters (1970) - Muddy Waters
- I Got What It Takes (1975) - Koko TaylorKoko TaylorKoko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings....
- On Tap (1975) - Junior WellsJunior WellsJunior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
- Live at Theresa's 1975Live at Theresa's 1975Live at Theresa's 1975 is a live album released of material recorded by blues vocalist and harmonica player Junior Wells. This is the first live Wells album released by Delmark Records...
(1975) - Junior Wells - Spoon's Life (1980) - Jimmy WitherspoonJimmy WitherspoonJimmy Witherspoon was an American jump blues singer.-Early life and career:James Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. He first attracted attention singing with Teddy Weatherford's band in Calcutta, India, which made regular radio broadcasts over the U. S. Armed Forces Radio Service during...
- My Soul is Blue (1980) - Johnny Dollar
- Take Me Back (1987) - James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
Blues Band