Sam Dees (born December 17, 1945) is an American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

singer, songwriter and record producer. He has released several albums throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and the 1990s; as a composer, he has written hundreds of songs for many music artists.

Early life

Sam Dees 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% fr ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, into a large family and distinguished himself with his voice. At the age of nine, and already champion of several singing contests, he founded his own vocal group, the Bossanovians.

Music career

As a teenager he traveled to perform and, in 1968 he recorded his first single at

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

's SSS International. He released his next few singles on Lolo Records.

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 and r ...

producer, Lenny Sachs, gave him an opportunity to self-produce two singles on the Chess label, which Dees recorded in a former church in Birmingham. From there, he began recording for

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, which released his landmark album, ''The Show Must Go On'' in 1975.

Songwriter

Since then, Dees recording career stalled while he wrote hits for other singers, such as "Am I Dreaming" (

Atlantic Starr Atlantic Starr is an American band based in White Plains, New York. They are best known for the hits " Always", " Secret Lovers", "Send for Me", " Circles", "Silver Shadow" and "Masterpiece". History Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New Yo ...

), "

One in a Million You "One in a Million You" is a single by Larry Graham from his album of the same name. The song was written by Sam Dees and produced by Larry Graham. "One in a Million You" was a gold record. Chart performance Graham is the former bass player for ...

" (

Larry Graham Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, both with the psychedelic soul/ funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the singl ...

), "Save the Overtime (For Me)" (

Gladys Knight and The Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

), "Love All the Hurt Away" (

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

), and "Lover for Life" (

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

). Dees also wrote the song "Just The Lonely Talking again", which was originally recorded by the American R&B vocal group

The Manhattans The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group. Their work " Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's " Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart, includ ...

on their 1983 album ''" Forever By Your Side"'', and later recorded by

in 1987 on her second studio album, ''

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

''. He released a solo single titled "After All" in 1989, and the accompanying album, ''Secret Admirer'', was not successful. Dees continues to write and produce. He released recordings on his own Pen Pad label and also recorded for Ardent Records in England, not to be confused with

Ardent Records Ardent Records is an American record label based in Memphis, which was founded by John Fry in 1959. Ardent of the 1960s and 1970s featured pop music acts and was distributed by Stax Records from 1972 until 1975. It is best remembered today for B ...

of Memphis, Tennessee. Another English label,

Kent Records Kent Records was a Los Angeles-based record label, launched in 1958 by the Bihari brothers. It was subsidiary of Crown Records Corporation. Kent was a follow-up to Modern Records which ceased operations in 1958. The label reissued Modern's singles, ...

, has released early recordings. Other previously unissued recordings from the early 1970s are planned for release by Selecta Records, whose parent company Millbrand Music control the copyrights to many of Dees' early songs. His song "Lonely for You Baby" was used and referenced in the British surf movie, ''

Blue Juice ''Blue Juice'' is a 1995 British drama film directed by Carl Prechezer and starring Sean Pertwee, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ewan McGregor, and Steven Mackintosh. It follows JC (Pertwee) as he attempts to reconcile his surfer lifestyle and loser fr ...

'' (1995).

Solo discography

Studio albums

*''The Show Must Go On'' (1975) - (reissued 2012) *''Secret Admirer'' (1989) *''The Homecomings'' (EP) (1991) *''Cry to Me: Deep and Mellow Soul of Sam Dees'' (1994) *''Second to None'' (1995) *''Gospel Tribute'' (1997) *''Sam Dees'' (1997) *''Lovers Do'' (Pen Pad, 1998) *''The Heritage of a Black Man'' (1998)

Songwriter credits

Songs

", (

) *"So Can I", (

Loleatta Holloway Loleatta Holloway (, ; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and " Love Sensation". In December 2016, '' Billboard'' named her the 95th most successful dance artist of all time. A ...

) *"Am I Dreaming", (

) *"Send for Me", (Atlantic Starr) *"All in the Name of Love", (Atlantic Starr) *"

Save the Overtime (For Me) "Save The Overtime (For Me)" is a 1983 single by the R&B and pop group, Gladys Knight and the Pips. The song, under the artistic direction of Leon Sylvers III (known for collaborating on Shalamar hits), was done in a soulful boogie Boogie is ...

", (

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys K ...

) *"

Love All the Hurt Away ''Love All the Hurt Away'' is the twenty-seventh studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Released in August 20,1981 ,this album is the singer's second release under the Arista Records label. The Arif Mardin-produced disc reached fourt ...

", (

) *"Just the Lonely Talking Again", (

in 1983, and later

in 1987) *"Lover for Life", (

) *"After the Love Has Lost Its Shine", (Regina Belle) *"Mess on Your Hands" (

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

) *"Let Me Heal The Bruises" (

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

) *"Games, Games" (Tavares) *"My Love Calls" (Tavares) *”Where Did We Go Wrong” L.T.D.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dees, Sam 1945 births Living people American soul singers 20th-century African-American male singers American male singers Record producers from Alabama Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Songwriters from Alabama African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American people American male songwriters