Sammy David Lawhorn (July 12, 1935 – April 29, 1990) was an American

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

guitarist, best known as a member of

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

's band. He also accompanied many other

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

musicians, including

Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

Willie Cobbs Willie C. Cobbs (July 15, 1932 – October 25, 2021) was an American blues singer, harmonica player and songwriter. He is best known for his song " You Don't Love Me". Life and career Born in Smale, Monroe County, Arkansas, United States, C ...

Eddie Boyd Edward Riley Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994)Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016. was an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, including the ...

, Roy Brown, Big Mama Thornton,

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

and

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

Biography

Lawhorn was born in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. His parents soon separated, and his mother remarried, leaving him in the care of his grandparents. He made his own

diddley bow The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the blues sound. It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a brid ...

, nailing baling twine to the side of their house. He frequently visited his mother and stepfather in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They bought him a

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

, then an

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

and finally an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

. By the age of fifteen, he was proficient enough to accompany Driftin' Slim on stage. With further guidance from

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...

, Lawhorn began playing with him on the radio program ''

King Biscuit Time :''"King Biscuit Time" is also the name under which ex-Beta Band frontman Steve Mason releases his solo work.'' ''King Biscuit Time'' is the longest-running daily American radio broadcast in history. The program is broadcast each weekday from ...

''. He was conscripted in 1953 and served in the United States Navy. On a tour of duty in Korea, he was injured by enemy fire during aerial reconnaissance. He remained in the Navy until his discharge in 1958. He then moved to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, where he played on recordings with the "5" Royales,

, Roy Brown and

. An argument with Cobbs arose over the writing credits for the song " You Don't Love Me". Finding work on his own in Chicago in 1958, Lawhorn soon moved there, despite the theft of a guitar at one of his early club performances. By the early 1960s, Lawhorn had found regular work as a club

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo ...

Otis Rush Otis Rush Jr. (April 29, 1934 – September 29, 2018) was an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter. His distinctive guitar style featured a slow-burning sound and long bent notes. With qualities similar to the styles of other 1950s art ...

and

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

and sat in with

's band on a couple of occasions. By October 1964, he had been invited to become a full-time member of Waters's band. Over the next decade, he played on several of Waters's albums, including ''

Folk Singer Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

'', ''

Live at Mr. Kelly's ''Live at Mister Kelly's'', often stylized as ''"Live" (At Mr. Kelly's)'', is a live album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1971.The London Muddy Waters Sessions ''The London Muddy Waters Sessions'' is a studio album by Muddy Waters, released in 1972 on Chess Records. A follow-up to 1971's ''The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions,'' the concept was to combine American bluesmen with British blues/rock stars. The ...

''. His guitar playing was also featured when the band supplied backing for

, Big Mama Thornton and

. Citing Lawhorn's use of the

tremolo arm A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. Instruments without a vibrato have other bridge and tailpiece systems. They add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strin ...

on his guitar and his overall playing expertise, Waters later referred to him as the best guitarist he ever had in his band. However, Lawhorn's career was beginning to be hampered by his drinking. He passed out on stage over his amplifier and off stage while sitting in clubs, and he missed some shows altogether. Waters lost patience and fired him in 1973. He was replaced by

Bob Margolin Bob Margolin (born May 9, 1949) is an American electric blues guitarist. His nickname is Steady Rollin'. Biography Margolin started playing guitar in 1964, and his first appearance on record was with Boston psychedelic band The Freeborne, and t ...

. Lawhorn returned to playing in Chicago clubs and remained in the recording industry, contributing to

's ''On Tap'' (1974) and

's ''Take Me Back'' (1987). He also played guitar on recorded work by

Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known for ...

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, and his mot ...

, Little Mack Simmons, and L. C. Robinson. Working in several Chicago haunts, he played alongside his childhood idols

T-Bone Walker Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) was an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 ''Roll ...

and

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list o ...

. He offered assistance to up-and-coming musicians, including

John Primer John Primer (born March 5, 1945, Camden, Mississippi, United States) is an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer and guitarist who played behind Junior Wells in the house band at Theresa's Lounge and as a member of the bands of Will ...

, who became his disciple. Lawhorn's health began to fail as a result of alcoholism and arthritis. A factor contributing to his arthritis was his having broken bones in his feet and ankles when he was thrown from a third-floor window by a burglar. He died on April 29, 1990, at the age of 54. His death certificate cited

death by natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

Discography

With

*''Take Me Back'' (Blind Pig, 1987) With Johnny Dollar *''My Soul Is Blue'' (Isabel, 1980) With

*''

'' (Chess, 1964) *''

The Real Folk Blues ''The Real Folk Blues'' is a series of blues albums released between 1965 and 1967 by Chess Records, later reissued MCA Records. Each album in the series highlighted the music of one major Chess artist, including John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Mudd ...

'' (Chess, 1947–64,

966 Year 966 (Roman numerals, CMLXVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * 23 June - Arab-Byzantine Wars, Byzantine-Arab War: Arab-Byzantine ...

*'' Muddy, Brass & the Blues'' (Chess, 1966) *''

'' (Chess, 1972) *''

Can't Get No Grindin' ''Can't Get No Grindin is an album by blues musician Muddy Waters released by the Chess label in 1973.Otis Spann Otis Spann (March 21, 1924 or 1930April 24, 1970) was an American blues musician, whom many consider to be the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist. Early life Sources differ over Spann's early years. Some state that he was born in Jackson, Miss ...

*'' The Blues Is Where It's At'' (BluesWay, 1966) *'' The Bottom of the Blues'' (BluesWay, 1968) With

*'' Live at Cafe Au Go Go'' (BluesWay, 1966) With

*''I Got What It Takes'' (Alligator, 1975) With Big Mama Thornton *'' Big Mama Thornton with Muddy Waters' Blues Band'' (Arhoolie, 1966) With

*''On Tap'' (Delmark, 1974) *'' Live at Theresa's 1975'' (Delmark, 1975 006 With

*''Spoon's Life'' (Isabel, 1980)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawhorn, Sammy 1935 births 1990 deaths American blues guitarists American male guitarists Blues musicians from Arkansas Soul-blues musicians Electric blues musicians Chicago blues musicians American session musicians Musicians from Little Rock, Arkansas 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Arkansas Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians

Biography

Discography

See also

References