Domingo "Sam" Samudio (born February 28, 1937[1]Dallas, Texas), better
known by his stage name Sam the Sham, is a retired American rock and
roll singer.
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham was known for his camp robe and turban and
hauling his equipment in a 1952
Packard

Packard hearse with maroon velvet
curtains. As the front man for the Pharaohs, he sang on several Top 40
hits in the mid-1960s, notably the
Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100 runners up "Wooly
Bully" and "Li'l Red Riding Hood".
Contents
1 Early career
2 The breakthrough hit
3 Further successes
4 Post-hit career
5 Discography
5.1 Albums
5.2 Singles
6 References
7 External links
Early career[edit]
Samudio, who is of
Mexican American

Mexican American descent, made his singing debut in
second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast. Later, he
took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini
Lopez. After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy,
where he was known as "Big Sam." He lived in
Panama

Panama for six years,
until his discharge.
Back in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at
Arlington State College, now the University of
Texas

Texas at Arlington.[2]
"I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at
night", he recalled. "That lasted about two years, before I dropped
out and became a carny."[3]
In
Dallas

Dallas in 1961, Sam formed "The Pharaohs," the name inspired from
the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the 1956 film
The Ten Commandments. The other members of "The Pharaohs" were Carl
Miedke, Russell Fowler, Omar "Big Man” Lopez and Vincent Lopez (no
relation to Omar). In 1962 the group made a record that did not sell.
The Pharaohs disbanded in 1962.[4]
In May 1963, Vincent Lopez was playing for Andy and The Nightriders in
Louisiana. When their organist quit, Sam joined. Andy and The
Nightriders was Andy Anderson, David A. Martin, Vincent Lopez and Sam.
The Nightriders became house band at The Congo Club near Leesville,
Louisiana. It was here that Sam took the name
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham from a joke
about his inability as a vocalist.[4]
In June 1963, The Nightriders headed for
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee and became
the house band at The Diplomat. In late summer 1963, Andy Anderson and
Vincent Lopez left to return to Texas. Sam and David A. Martin
replaced them with Jerry Patterson and Ray Stinnett and changed the
name to "
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs." Shortly thereafter, the band
added saxophonist Butch Gibson.
The breakthrough hit[edit]
After paying to record and press records to sell at gigs, Sam the Sham
and the Pharaohs wound up with the XL label in Memphis. There, they
recorded their first and biggest hit, "Wooly Bully", a song about
Sam's cat in late 1964.[5] Once MGM picked up the record, "Wooly
Bully" ended up selling 3 million copies and reaching No. 2 on the Hot
100 on 5 June 1965 at a time when American pop music charts were
dominated by the British Invasion. It was awarded a gold disc.[6]
Although "Wooly Bully" never reached #1, it lingered on the Hot 100
for 18 weeks, the most weeks for any single within the calendar year
1965, 14 of which were in the Top 40. It became the first Billboard
"Number One Record of the Year" not to have topped a weekly Hot 100
and remained the only one for 35 years until Faith Hill's "Breathe"
and Lifehouse's "Hanging by a Moment" in 2000 and 2001, respectively.
Further successes[edit]
The Pharaohs' next releases – "Ju Ju Hand" (#26 US) (#31 Can.) and
"Ring Dang Doo"- were minor successes. In late 1965, 11 months after
"Wooly Bully", David A. Martin, Jerry Patterson, Ray Stinnett, and
Butch Gibson left over a financial dispute. Sam's manager, Leonard
Stogel, discovered Tony Gee & The Gypsys at the Metropole Cafe in
Times Square, New York City. The band were Tony "Butch" Gerace (bass
guitar and vocals) Frankie Carabetta (keyboards, saxophone and vocals)
Billy Bennett (drums and percussion) and Andy Kuha (guitar and
vocals). This new set of Pharaohs recorded "Li'l Red Riding Hood". On
the Hot 100, "Lil' Red Riding Hood" began its two-week peak at #2 the
week of August 6, 1966, just as another fairy tale title, "The Pied
Piper" by Crispian St. Peters, was ending its three-week peak at #4.
The track did even better by Cash Box Magazine's reckoning, reaching
#1 the same week. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc.[6] It also reached #2 on the Canadian RPM Magazine charts
August 22, 1966.
A series of mostly novelty tunes followed, all on the MGM label,
keeping the group on the charts into 1967. Titles included "The Hair
On My Chinny Chin Chin" (US #22, Canadian #13), "How Do You Catch A
Girl" (US #27, Canadian #12), "I Couldn't Spell !!*@!", and the
rather confusing lyrics of "Oh That's Good, No That's Bad" (US #54).
Post-hit career[edit]
In 1967, three girls, Fran Curcio, Lorraine Gennaro, and Jane
Anderson, joined as The Shamettes. The group traveled to Asia as Sam
the Sham & The Pharaohs and The Shamettes. In late 1967, after the
Six-day War

Six-day War between Israel and Egypt, Sam changed to Sam the Sham
Revue. In 1970, Samudio went on his own and issued an Atlantic album
called Sam, Hard and Heavy that won the Grammy Award for Best Album
Notes in 1972. The album featured
Duane Allman

Duane Allman on guitar, the Dixie
Flyers and the Memphis Horns. He formed a new band in 1974. In the
late 1970s he worked with baritone saxophonist Joe Sunseri and his
band based out of New Orleans. The early 1980s found Sam working with
Ry Cooder

Ry Cooder and
Freddy Fender

Freddy Fender on the soundtrack for the Jack Nicholson
film The Border.
Sam married Louise Smith on August 28, 1959 in Dallas, Texas. They had
one son named Dimitrius Samudio, born on May 28, 1963, in Dallas. They
divorced on May 16, 1968, in Dallas.
After leaving the music business, Sam worked in Mexico as an
interpreter and as a mate on small commercial boats in the Gulf of
Mexico.[7]
Sam later became a motivational speaker and poet and still makes
occasional concert appearances. He was inducted into the Memphis Music
Hall of Fame in 2016.
Discography[edit]
Albums[edit]
As
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs[8]
Wooly Bully

Wooly Bully (1965) MGM E (Mono)/SE (Stereo) 4297
Their Second Album (1965) MGM E/SE 4314
On Tour (1965) MGM E/SE 4347
Li'l Red Riding Hood (1966) MGM E/SE 4407
The
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham
Revue

Revue (1966) MGM E/SE 4479
Ten of Pentacles (1967) MGM E/SE 4526
As Sam Samudio
Sam, Hard And Heavy (1971) Atlantic SD 8271[9]
As Sam and Charity
"Running with the Rabbits" (1983)
Singles[edit]
As
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
Year
Titles (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated
Peak chart positions
Album
US Hot 100
US R&B
CAN
UK
1965
"Wooly Bully"
b/w "Ain't Gonna Move" (Non-album track)
2
31
2
11
Wooly Bully
"Ju Ju Hand"
b/w "Big City Lights" (from On Tour)
26
-
31
-
Their Second Album
"Ring Dang Doo"
b/w "Don't Try It" (Non-album track)
33
-
-
-
On Tour
1966
"Red Hot"
b/w "A Long, Long Way" (Non-album track)
82
-
-
-
"Li'l Red Riding Hood"
b/w "Love Me Like Before" (Non-album track)
2
-
2
46
Li'l Red Riding Hood
"The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin"
b/w "(I'm In With) The Out Crowd"
22
-
13
-
The Best Of Sam The Sham and The Pharaohs
"How Do You Catch A Girl"
b/w "The Love You Left Behind"
27
-
12
-
Non-album tracks
1967
"Oh That's Good, No That's Bad"
b/w "Take What You Can Get"
54
-
-
-
"Black Sheep"
b/w "My Day's Gonna Come"
68
-
-
-
The Sam The Sham Revue
1968
"Old MacDonald Had A Boogaloo Farm"
b/w "I Never Had No One" (Non-album track)
-
-
-
-
Ten Of Pentacles
1969
"Wooly Bully"
b/w "Ain't Gonna Move" (Non-album track)
Re-release with standard MGM catalog number (14021)
-
-
-
-
Wooly Bully
As Sam the Sham
Year
Titles (A-side, B-side)
US Hot 100
Album
1963
"Betty and Dupree"
b/e "Man Child"
-
Non-album tracks
1964
"The Signafyin' Monkey"
b/w "Juimonos (Let's Went)"
-
"Haunted House"
b/w "How Does A Cheating Woman Feel"
-
1967
"Banned In Boston"
b/w "Money's My Problem"
117
"Yakety Yak"
b/w "Let Our Love Light Shine" (Non-album track)
-
Ten Of Pentacles
1968
"I Couldn't Spell !!*@!"
b/w "The Down Home Strut" (from Ten Of Pentacles)
-
Non-album track
1970
"Key To The Highway"
b/w "Me and Bobby McGee" (Non-album track)
As Sam Samudio
-
Sam, Hard and Heavy
1973
"Fate"
b/w "Oh Lo"
-
Non-album tracks
1977
"The Wookie, Part I"
b/w Part II
-
1978
"Ain't No Lie"
b/w "Baby, You Got It"
-
References[edit]
^
Template:Https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/02/28/this-day-history/gtOv7x3hxiIKSfsC8pB14J/story.html
^ Rosson, Chester (September 2001). "Sam the Sham". Texas
Monthly.
^ Sam The Sham. Classicbands.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-24.
^ a b "
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs". YouTube. Retrieved
2012-05-23.
^ Pore-Lee-Dunn Productions. "Sam The Sham". Classicbands.com.
Retrieved 2012-01-08.
^ a b Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.).
London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 196 & 212.
ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
^ "Look Who We Found...Sam The Sham". Los Angeles Times. 8 September
1991. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
^
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-the-sham-the-pharaohs-mn0000289177/discography
^
http://www.allmusic.com/artist/domingo-sam-samudio-mn0001744257/discography
External links[edit]
samthesham.com - Official website archived in 2012
v
t
e
Billboard Year-End number one singles (1960–1979)
1960: "Theme from A Summer Place" – Percy Faith
1961: "Tossin' and Turnin'" – Bobby Lewis
1962: "Stranger on the Shore" – Mr. Acker Bilk
1963: "Sugar Shack" – Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs
1964: "I Want to Hold Your Hand" – The Beatles
1965: "Wooly Bully" –
Sam the Sham

Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
1966: "Ballad of the Green Berets" – S/Sgt. Barry Sadler
1967: "To Sir, with Love" – Lulu
1968: "Hey Jude" – The Beatles
1969: "Sugar, Sugar" – The Archies
1970: "Bridge over Troubled Water" – Simon & Garfunkel
1971: "Joy to the World" – Three Dog Night
1972: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" – Roberta Flack
1973: "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" – Tony Orlando
and Dawn
1974: "The Way We Were" – Barbra Streisand
1975: "Love Will Keep Us Together" – Captain & Tennille
1976: "Silly Love Songs" – Wings
1977: "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" – Rod Stewart
1978: "Shadow Dancing" – Andy Gibb
1979: "My Sharona" – The Knack
Complete list
(1946–1959)
(1960–1979)
(1980–1999)
(2000–2019)
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