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In this third volume of the “Southern Sounds” collections, EALZ’s decided to pay tribute to a singer and musician considered like a bluesman rather than a Soul or R&B figure. Indeed Sammie Moore was born and raised in Rockhill, South Carolina in 1939 and better known under the intriguing nickname Ironing Board Sam. Unfairly unknown, though still on the air for our greatest pleasure, after 40 years with ups and downs in his career.
Attracted by the piano since his teenage years, he started practising on his dad’s organ while also playing in some local bands. Once he felt confident enough, he first accompanied the harmonica player and bluesman Robert Montgomery in Miami, he also played in small clubs in Florida with his own band, performed with Sam & Dave and Sam Cooke. It was then like his very first time as a pro on stage!
In the early 60’s Sam left for Memphis, Tennessee, where he is said to have lost his Hammond B3 organ in a fire and he had to make himself another one with a keyboard and an ironing board to back it up! From then on, he has started being nicknamed Ironing Board Sam on stage. Some club managers finding it also probably great for business, and that’s how we keep calling him today and for days to come!
Later after the sixties he had some auditions with labels like Stax, Hi Records, then he was off to Chicago for a recording session with Chess, the legendary label but Sam never heard from them after which very badly disappointed him. While talking about that period of his life he once said: ”I did one session at Chess. When I went back to find if they were interested in recording me, I was told the producer I'd worked with had been fired. I was out in the cold. At that point I was totally discouraged with the record business. I knew I had what people wanted to hear, but the record companies wouldn't let me prove it.”
Sam once more hit the road, this time for L.A for a couple of years and a handful of singles with no success even though they were released by Atlantic, Holiday Inn, Styletone and Board. Finally he got back home in the South, and sat in New Orleans. He was praised by the public in Crescent City during some unforgettable shows where the theatrical aspects of those shows are found sensational.
At that time, his “ironing board” had been improved with a customized keyboard created by this self-made-engineer bluesman, producing therefore some distorted sounds, with some “wah-wah” effects and distorted bass effects, as you can hear and experience in pieces like “Let’s Streak” or “Space Streaker”.
You can feel this man’s art in this twisted blues-funk as during his incredible and very personal performances, playing music on board a balloon, or disguised as a giant juke-box or inside a water tank filled with 2000 liters of water!
After Katrina, no one heard from him for a while, but then the Music Maker Foundation got hold of him, he is now living in South Carolina and has been included by the Foundation in a project aimed at helping musicians, protecting and saving the American musical heritage. So thanks to their friendly cooperation EALZ! Records is able today to offer you this special focus on this amazing great entertainer, a forgotten hero, deeply rooted in this Southern Sound Series, whom we are modestly paying a tribute to.
Bravo for the Music Maker Foundation ! Thank you very much to Sam! And….”En Avant La Musique !” (means ”Music forward !”)
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