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Sam Andrew

 
Artist: Sam Andrew
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Sam Andrew

Worked With:

David Getz, James Gurley, Janis Joplin, Brad Campbell
  • Born: December 18, 1941, Taft, CA
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Guitar

Biography

Janis Joplin may have been the most famous member of Big Brother & the Holding Company, but she wasn't the only one in the group central to its sound -- guitar/singer Sam Andrew also wrote songs for the group, and he ended up with one of the longest careers of any of the members. Andrew's career in music began in 1959, at age 17, on the island of Okinawa. The son of a career military officer, he was living on the Japanese island with his family, and leading his own rock & roll band, which earned a regular gig at a locally broadcast American Bandstand-type program. His father's transfer to northern California made it possible for Andrew to attend college in San Francisco, where he became part of the city's folk scene, which evolved into folk-rock underground in 1964 and 1965. His chance hearing of the sounds of a jam going on at the home of Peter Albin led to his joining the circle of musicians hanging around Albin, and precipitated the formation of Big Brother & the Holding Company in 1965. The group started out as a quartet, with Andrew and Albin handing the vocals, in addition to guitar and bass, respectively, and James Gurley and David Getz on guitar and drums. In June of 1966, in the course of trying to attract a bigger audience, the group added Janis Joplin to their lineup as lead singer, which greatly altered their sound. Andrew and Albin still sang, usually as backup to Joplin, and wrote songs as well. By the time of their appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June of 1967, they were being courted by every major record company in America, and ultimately signed with Columbia Records. The group only recorded one official album with Joplin, Cheap Thrills, and at the end of 1968 she announced that she was leaving them. Andrew was the only member of the band that she took with her, into the Kozmic Blues Band, with which she toured and recorded for nine months in 1969. At the end of the year, that group split up and Andrew returned to a re-formed version of Big Brother & the Holding Company, with a lineup that included Nick Gravenites. That version of the group only lasted into the early '70s, after which Big Brother began a period of on-again/off-again activity, re-forming every so often for concerts and occasional recording. Andrew used his time away from the band in the '70s to pursue a formal music education in New York, at the New School For Social Research and the Mannes College of Music, where he learned to play the clarinet and the saxophone. He has continued to play guitar with Big Brother & the Holding Company into the 21st century, but has also written chamber music and a symphony, as well as music for films. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Sam Andrew
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Sam Andrew (born Sam Houston Andrew III, 18 December 1941, in Taft, California, U.S.) is a musician, singer, songwriter, composer, artist and founding member and guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company. During his career as musician and composer, Andrew has had three platinum albums and two hit singles. His songs have been used in numerous major motion picture soundtracks and documentaries.

As the son of a military father, he moved a great deal as a child. Sam developed a skill for music at a very early age. By the time he was fifteen living in Okinawa, he already had his own band, called the "Cool Notes". His early influences were Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard. He also listened to a great deal of Delta blues. Not only did Sam have his own band at age fifteen, but he also had his own weekly TV show, an Okinawan version of American Bandstand.His brother Leland Andrew frequently stated his brother was the Benny Goodman of Japan.

Shortly after Sam graduated from high school his father was transferred to Hamilton Air Force Base in northern California. It was during this period that Sam started attending classes at the University of San Francisco and got involved in the San Francisco folk music scene of the early 1960s. But it was not until he returned from a two-year stay in Paris that he met Peter Albin at 1090 Page Street.

As Big Brother began to gel, Sam brought many songs into the band. He has been a prolific songwriter all of his life, penning his first tune at the age of six. Of his early compositions, "Call on Me" and "Combination of the Two" have been two of Big Brother’s most enduring classic tracks.. Sam continues today in his original role as musical director of the band.

Janis Joplin was recruited by band manager Chet Helms to join Big Brother as lead singer on June 4, 1966.[1] They soon landed a record contract, issuing their first album on Mainstream and their second - a top seller - on Columbia Records.

Sam and original band mate James Gurley were known for their searing, psychedelic guitar work. In February 1997, Guitar Player magazine listed Sam and James work on "Summertime" as one of the top ten psychedelic solos in music history.

In December 1968 Sam along with Janis Joplin left Big Brother and the Holding Company to form the Kozmic Blues Band. After about nine months and one album, I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, Sam returned to Big Brother.

After Big Brother stopped performing in 1972, he moved to New York where he studied harmony and counterpoint at the New School for Social Research and composition at Mannes School of Music. During this period he also scored several films in the US and Canada as well as writing two string quartets and a symphony. He remained in New York City for eight years before returning to San Francisco where he began playing clarinet and saxophone. Big Brother and the Holding Company reunited in 1987.

During the 1990s in addition to touring with Big Brother, Andrew was involved with his solo project, The Sam Andrew Band, that toured across North America, and the spoken word quartet, Theatre of Light, that featured The Vagabond Poet, Tony Seldin, keyboardist, Tom Constanten and harpist/pianist, Elise Piliwale.

Andrew is also Music Director of the play Love, Janis, a biopic based on the life of Janis Joplin, written by Laura Joplin and directed by Randal Myler.

Andrew performed at the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Concert on August 22, 2009 at Bethel Woods, New York.

Sam lives in northern California with his wife Elise Piliwale. He has one daughter, Mari Andrew, from his marriage to Suzanne Thorson.

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References

  1. ^ "Janis Joplin Discography". Janis Joplin. http://www.officialjanis.com/dates_1966.html. Retrieved 2008-05-12. 

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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Sam Andrew".  Read more

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