Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

and R&B musician alongside

Little Walter Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is regarded as one of the most influential blues musicians of all time. Over a four-decade care ...

, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

in 2015.

Life and career

Samuel Julian Lay was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

, on March 20, 1935. He began his career in 1957, as the drummer for the Original Thunderbirds. He soon after became the drummer for the harmonica player

. In 1960, he became the regular drummer for

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post- war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicag ...

, and remained in Waters's band until 1966. In that time he also began recording and performing with prominent blues musicians, including

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

Eddie Taylor Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. Biography Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing ...

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often in ...

, Junior Wells,

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

, Magic Sam, Jimmy Rogers, and

Earl Hooker Earl Zebedee Hooker (January 15, 1930 – April 21, 1970) was a Chicago blues guitarist known for his slide guitar playing. Considered a "musician's musician", he performed with blues artists such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and ...

. The recordings Lay made during this time, along with Waters's album '' Fathers and Sons'', recorded in 1969, are considered to be among the definitive works of Waters and Wolf. In 1966, Lay joined the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and recorded and toured extensively with them.

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

used Lay as his drummer when he introduced electric rock at the

Newport Folk Festival Newport Folk Festival is an annual American folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the Newport Jazz Festival. It was one of the first modern music festivals in America, and remains a foca ...

in 1965. Lay also recorded on Dylan's track "

Highway 61 Revisited ''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on eve ...

", and may have provided the siren whistle Dylan famously uses on the track. Lay's drumming can be heard on over 40 recordings for

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock a ...

, with many notable blues performers. He toured the major blues festivals in the US and Europe with the Chess Records All-Stars. In the late 1980s Lay was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

, in Memphis. He has also been inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame, in Los Angeles, and the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, in Cleveland. He was nominated eight times for the coveted W. C. Handy Award for Best Instrumentalist, including a nomination in 2005. Lay made two albums with his own band, released by Appaloosa Records and Evidence Records, and two recordings for

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

with the Siegel-Schwall Band. His own album, ''Sam Lay in Bluesland'', released in 1969 by

Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active ...

, was produced by Nick Gravenites. He was nominated in 2000 for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for his performances on the CD ''Howlin' Wolf Tribute''. He was honored by the Recording Academy in January 2002 with a Legends and Heroes Award for his significant musical contributions. He was prominently featured in the PBS television documentary ''History of the Blues'', broadcast in seven episodes, produced by the Academy Award–winning director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

. Lay shot many home movies of fellow blues performers in small Chicago venues in the late 1950s and 1960s,Sam Lay Blues Collection
at Historic Films parts of which were included in ''History of the Blues'' and the

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). T ...

television production ''Record Row'', by the filmmaker Michael MacAlpin. In 2009, Lay worked alongside

Johnnie Marshall Johnnie B. Marshall Jr. (born June 2, 1961) is an American electric blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. His best known songs are "''Found Another Woman''" and "''98 Cents in the Bank''". Discovered by Johnny Rawls in the mid 1990s, Marshal ...

. In 2014, filmmaker John Anderson made the feature film ''Sam Lay in Bluesland'', a documentary detailing Lay's life. Lay was inducted into the

, as a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, in 2015. Lay died at a nursing facility in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

on January 29, 2022, at the age of 86.O'Donnell, Maureen (January 31, 2022)
"Legendary Drummer Sam Lay Dead at 86"
''Chicago Sun-Times''. Retrieved January 31, 2022

Selected discography

As a band leader *''Sam Lay in Bluesland'' (Blue Thumb Records, 1969 TS 14 With Paul Butterfield *'' The Paul Butterfield Blues Band'' (Elektra, 1965) *''

What's Shakin' ''What's Shakin' '' is a compilation album released by Elektra Records in May1966. It features the earliest studio recordings by the Lovin' Spoonful and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, as well as the only released recordings by the ''ad hoc'' s ...

'' (Elektra, 1966) With

Carey Bell Carey Bell Harrington (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) was an American blues musician who played harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass guitar for other blues musicians from the late 1950s to the early 1970s befo ...

*''

Heartaches and Pain ''Heartaches and Pain'' is an album by the American blues musician Carey Bell, recorded in Chicago in 1977, but not released by the Delmark label until 1994.994 Year 994 ( CMXCIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * September 15 – Battle of the Orontes: Fatimid forces, under Turkish gener ...

With

*''

'' (Columbia, 1965) *'' The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'' (Columbia

015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak albu ...

With

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list ...

*'' Live at Newport'' (Vanguard, 1965 002 With

*''

'' (Chess, 1959-62

962 Year 962 ( CMLXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * December – Arab–Byzantine wars – Sack of Aleppo: A Byzantine e ...

*'' The Real Folk Blues'' (Chess, 1956-64

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Ta ...

With Magic Sam *'' Magic Sam Live'' (Delmark, 1969

981 Year 981 ( CMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events Births * Abu'l-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Maghribi, Arab statesman (d. 1027) * Giovanni Orseolo, Venetian ...

With

*'' Fathers and Sons'' (Chess, 1969) With the

Siegel–Schwall Band The Siegel–Schwall Band was an American electric blues band from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1964 by Corky Siegel (piano, electric piano, harmonica, vocals) and Jim Schwall (guitar, mandolin, vocals). They played many live sho ...

*'' The Siegel–Schwall Reunion Concert'' (Alligator, 1988) *'' Flash Forward'' (Alligator, 2005)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lay, Sam 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American blues drummers American blues singers American male singers Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Blues musicians from Alabama American rock drummers American jazz drummers Paul Butterfield Blues Band members American male drummers Jazz musicians from Alabama American male jazz musicians Blue Thumb Records artists