During the halcyon days of the Chicago blues scene, a number of nimble-fingered head-cutting bluesmen graced the West Side clubs with a style that was born of the Delta but influenced by the hardness of big city life. Muddy Waters is perhaps the best known of the new breed of bluesmen that the 1950s would give birth to, but talents such as Luther Allison, Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater, and Freddie King would also attract fans of their own in the competitive Chicago blues scene.
Defining the Chicago Blues
Lost in the legacy of the Chicago Blues, however, is a little-known six-string wizard by the name of Samuel Maghett. Known to blues aficionados as "Magic Sam," this skilled guitarist played with a uniquely distinctive style and sang with great passion that foreshadowed the great soul music of the late-1950s and early-60s.
During the 1950s, blues musicians in Chicago made their bones on stage, playing six and seven nights a week in West Side and South Side clubs while working day jobs to pay the rent. Records were made as a promotional tool, designed to get bodies into the club at a dollar or two a head.
Much as the original Delta blues legends did during the 1920s and '30s, popular blues artists would record "sides," laying down three or four songs at a time in the studio that would subsequently be released as singles. The Essential Magic Sam collects material from the first couple of chapters of the young Magic Sam's too brief career, presenting recordings he made for the Cobra and Chief Records labels between 1957 and 1961.
The Essential Magic Sam
The material on The Essential Magic Sam can be broken down into two significant periods. The 1950-eras material, recorded for Cobra under the supervision of the legendary Willie Dixon, is performed in the electric blues style of the time. Sam's first Cobra single, "All Your Love," features a nifty recurring riff and mournful rhythm playing that underscores Sam's tortured vocals.
The b-side, "Love Me With A Feeling," rolls with a foot-shuffling beat, Sam's rapid-fire vibrato driving the song along like a Chuck Berry rocker. Other highlights from the 1950s sessions include the rollicking "All My Whole Life," which includes an impressive guitar solo, and "21 Days In Jail," a turbo-charged rockabilly tune with slick fingerwork and Sam's staccato vocals.
The Chief Records Years
After a brief stint in the Army, Sam returned to Chicago in 1960 and signed with the Chief Records label. Here Sam's work would turn away from the traditional blues-based material towards a soulful, slicker R & B sound. Sam's guitar playing remained the primary driving force behind songs such as "My Love Is Your Love" and "Blue Light Boogie."
A strange pair of instrumentals - "Square Dance Rock, Part One" and "Square Dance Rock, Part Two" - would skew closer to cornpone country, featuring Sam in a six-string duel with slide master and Chief labelmate Earl Hooker.
The Reverend's Bottom Line
Magic Sam would continue to play Chicago's West Side throughout the 1960s, although he wouldn't record his first full-length album until 1967's classic West Side Soul for the Delmark label. A consummate bluesman and major influence on 1960s soul and '70s funk, Sam Maghett has never received the respect that he deserved.
According to Bill Dahl's excellent liner notes for The Essential Magic Sam, a dynamic performance at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival would prove to be the artist's swan song. He would die shortly thereafter of a heart attack, just as he was reaching a new and potentially larger audience.
The Essential Magic Sam preserves the early history of one of the greater talents of the blues. Coupled with his two late-1960s Delmark releases, they offer a portrait of the evolution and artistry of this tragically unknown musical giant. (Fuel 2000 Records, released February 27, 2001)
