Samuel Strain Jr. (born December 9, 1939) is an American retired R&B vocalist, known for his time as a member of

Little Anthony and the Imperials Little Anthony and the Imperials is an American rhythm and blues/soul vocal group from New York City founded by Clarence Collins in the 1950s and named in part for its lead singer, Jerome Anthony "Little Anthony" Gourdine, who was noted for his h ...

(1961–1972; 1992–2004) and

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

(1976–1992). He holds the unusual distinction of being twice inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also 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 the ...

: in 2005 with the O'Jays and in 2009 with Little Anthony and the Imperials.

Early life

Strain was born to Sammy Strain Sr. and Margaret Mosley in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1939. He visited the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

as a teenager, and dropped out of Alexander Hamilton High School, Brooklyn age 16.

Career

Strain formed The Chips with several friends in 1956. He sang with a

tenor voice A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below midd ...

. In 1961, Strain joined

The Imperials The Imperials is an American contemporary Christian music group that has been active for over 60 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There ...

; they later reunited with their lead singer and reformed

. From 1976 to 1992, Strain was part of

replacing original member William Powell as he was diagnosed with colon cancer, he rejoined the Imperials, and sang with them until retiring in 2004. Strain was twice inducted into the

: in 2005 with the O'Jays and in 2009 with Little Anthony and the Imperials.

Personal life

Strain married the singer

Yvonne Fair Flora Yvonne Fair Strain (''née'' Coleman; October 21, 1942 – March 6, 1994) was an American singer, best known for her 1975 recording of " It Should Have Been Me". Life and career Flora Yvonne Coleman was born in Richmond, Virginia on Oct ...

. He is currently married to DeBorah and has two sons.

Notes

:1.Some sources give Strain's year of birth as 1940 or 1941. However, he celebrated his 80th birthday in 2019 and most sources give 1939 as the year of birth, including the detailed biography in ''Echoes Of The Past'' magazine.

References

External links

* * 1939 births Living people American soul singers Musicians from Brooklyn American tenors 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers {{US-R&B-singer-stub