Samuel Salter (February 16, 1975 – August 27, 2021) was an American R&B singer.

Career

Beginnings, LaFace Records and ''It's On Tonight''

Growing up as the second of seven children, Salter sang gospel music at Faithful Church of God in Christ in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and won several local talent shows, with his vocal style that was influenced by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. In 1997, after his demo tape found its way into the hands of

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer. He is the founder and served as co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He also previously served as the chairman and CEO of Ep ...

LaFace Records LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achie ...

, he signed him to the label quickly and Salter began to work on his debut album with

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

. He ended up working with

Tricky Stewart Christopher Alan "Tricky" Stewart (born January 4, 1974) is an American record producer, record executive, songwriter, and music publisher. In a career spanning over 30 years, Stewart has won 5 Grammys and is responsible for over 50 million rec ...

and Laney Stewart who produced the majority of the album, as well as

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and Gordon Chambers. The set's first single "After 12, Before 6" was released in early 1997 and became a Top 20 R&B hit, while a remixed version of the song received popular airplay on radio and BET. His debut album ''It's On Tonight'' was released on September 23, 1997 and garnered positive reviews. The following year, he appeared on the NFL Jams compilation with the track "Call Me" featuring

Tamar Braxton Tamar Estine Braxton (born March 17, 1977) is an American singer and television personality. Braxton began her career in 1990 as a founding member of The Braxtons, an R&B singing group formed with her sisters. The Braxtons released their debut a ...

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and

Nicci Gilbert Nichole "Nicci" Gilbert (born July 8, 1970) is an American R&B singer. She is mainly known for being the former lead vocalist of an American female R&B girl-group Brownstone who rose to fame in the mid 1990s best known for their 1995 hit single ...

. Additionally, a second single from his album, the ballad "There You Are" was released and hit the Top 40 on R&B. Around this time, he continued to work on his songwriting, with songs for

98 Degrees 98 Degrees (stylized as 98°) is an American pop and R&B vocal group consisting of four vocalists: the group's founding member Jeff Timmons, brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, and Justin Jeffre. The group was formed by Timmons in Los Angeles, Cali ...

, Aaron Skyy, and

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' solo debut. His debut yielded one more single, the title track in 1998.

''The Little Black Book'' and label issues

In 1999, Salter began prepping for his sophomore album with

. The album's lead single "Once My Sh.. (Always My Sh..)" was released and featured a steamy music video, but the song received moderate airplay. He completed work on the album, titled ''Little Black Book'' and set for release in 2000, but it was shelved due to label shuffling and other issues. Despite the outcome, a few of the songs ended up being recorded by other artists such as

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

(who recorded "Color Of Love" which became the lead single to their 2002 album '' Full Circle'') and

Sisqó Mark Althavan Andrews (born November 9, 1978), known professionally as Sisqó (stylized as SisQó), is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. He is most prominently known for "Thong Song", his membership in Dru Hill, ...

(who recorded "Incomplete" for his debut album and became a #1 hit, as well as "Homewrecker" which appeared on his sophomore album).

Behind the scenes, independent and ''Strictly 4 The Bedroom''

In the following years, he left

and continue writing for other artists such as

Jesse Powell Jesse Powell (September 12, 1971 – September 13, 2022) was an American R&B and soul singer. Discovered by Louil Silas Jr., Powell was best known for his hit "You", which peaked at No. 2 on the R&B chart and No. 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

, Jersey Ave.,

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, B5,

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and also becoming a music engineer (working with

J. Holiday Nahum Thorton Grymes (born November 29, 1981), better known by his stage name J. Holiday, is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. He came into prominence in 2007 with his breakthrough hit "Bed", peaking at number five on the US ''Billboar ...

on his hit album ''Back of My Lac'') as well as Klé, and

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(on her 2008 album ''The Promise''). He collaborated with the group Talking Book on their single "On a September Morn" that was released in 2005. In 2006, he made his stage play debut in Palmer Williams Jr.’s ''What a Man Wants, What a Woman Needs'' starring

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. Additionally, he begin working on his third studio album ''Strictly 4 The Bedroom'' which he had hoped to release in 2008. A few songs premiered on his official MySpace page, including the title track, but the album was shelved. He had appeared in another stage play in 2009 by Donald Gray called ''There’s a Stranger in My House'' starring

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. Further producing and songwriting continued with songs for

El DeBarge Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include "Time Will Reveal", "Who's Holding ...

and Charlie Wilson in 2010, as well as a feature on Klé's single "Get It". Salter's next single "Straight 2 Heaven" was released independently in that same year. He signed with Elemental Entertainment INC, and release two digital singles "Got Me" (also in 2010) and "To Be Loved" (in 2011). In 2013, he collaborated with Rayviss on a single titled "Mayday" as well as a song titled "All I Want is You" which would both be included on Rayviss' EP ''The Rayviss'' in 2016. In early 2016, Salter signed with artist management company Flight Club Entertainment and appeared on the 2017 single "Bye Bunny (She's Gone)" by JEDI. He'd work on

K. Michelle Kimberly Michelle Pate (born March 4, 1982) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She is most known from VH1's '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' and after appearing as a regular cast member for two seasons on the reality televi ...

's 2016 album ''More Issues Than Vogue'' as well as Chantelle Barry's ''Lovers Gonna Love'' in 2018. In 2019, he was featured on the

Solé Tonya Michelle Johnston (born July 17, 1973), better known by her stage name Solé, is an American rapper from Kansas City, Missouri. Biography Solé was born in 1973 in Kansas City, Missouri, to Phyllis Frazier and James Johnston, Her siblin ...

single "Under the Veil" with Shae Jones, for her album ''Encoded''. Another collaboration "Down There" with Rich Moolah and Andiel was released in October 2020. His sophomore album ''Little Black Book'' got a partial release on streaming services, with four of the album tracks being released via R&B compilations by DJ Deepkut.

Death

On August 27, 2021, Salter died at the age of 46.

Discography

Albums

Singles

* 1997 "After 12, Before 6" - #51 US/Hot 100, #19 US/Hot R&B * 1997 “After 12, Before 6 (Ghetto Fabulous Remix)” * 1998 "There You Are" - #57 US/Hot 100, #31 US/Hot R&B * 1998 "It's On Tonight" * 2000 "Once My Sh.." - #1 US/Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs * 2005 "On a September Morn" (with Talking Book) * 2010 "Get It" (with Klé) * 2010 "Straight 2 Heaven" * 2010 "Got Me" * 2011 "To Be Loved" * 2013 "Mayday" (with Rayviss) * 2017 "Bye Bunny (She's Gone)" (with JEDI) * 2019 "Under the Veil" (with

& Shae Jones) * 2020 "Down There" (with Rich Moolah & Andiel)

References

External links

Sam Salter's MySpace Profile
* *
"After 12, Before 6 (Ghetto Fabulous Remix)" VideoSam Salter's Interview with Tiffany Janay on The Hip Hop Entrepreneur Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salter, Sam 1975 births 2021 deaths American contemporary R&B singers Musicians from Los Angeles Singers from California 21st-century African-American male singers 20th-century African-American male singers