• Get the app
  • Concerts
  • Charts
  • Radio Spins
  • Fast Forward 2025
  • Download Shazam
  • Apps
  • Concerts
  • Charts
  • Radio Spins
  • Fast Forward 2025
  • Help
Listen to Magic Sam, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!

Magic Sam

Blues

View Artist

Top Songs By Magic Sam

Listen to All Your Love by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
All Your LoveMagic Sam
Listen to Lookin' Good by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
Lookin' GoodMagic Sam
Listen to Sweet Home Chicago by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
Sweet Home ChicagoMagic Sam
Listen to I Need You so Bad by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
I Need You so BadMagic Sam
Listen to That's All I Need by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
That's All I NeedMagic Sam
Listen to All Your Love by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
All Your LoveMagic Sam
Listen to I Don't Want No Woman by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
I Don't Want No WomanMagic Sam
Listen to I Feel So Good - I Wanna Boogie by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
I Feel So Good - I Wanna BoogieMagic Sam
Listen to Mama, Mama - Talk to Your Daughter by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
Mama, Mama - Talk to Your DaughterMagic Sam
Listen to All of Your Love by Magic Sam, see lyrics, music video & more!
All of Your LoveMagic Sam

More albums from Magic Sam

Listen to Chi-Town Boogie & Other Favorites by Magic Sam
ALBUMChi-Town Boogie & Other FavoritesMagic Sam
Listen to Genius - The Final Sessions (Remastered) by Magic Sam
ALBUMGenius - The Final Sessions (Remastered)Magic Sam
Listen to Chi Town Blues by Magic Sam
ALBUMChi Town BluesMagic Sam
Listen to An Introduction To Magic Sam by Magic Sam
ALBUMAn Introduction To Magic SamMagic Sam
Listen to Rockin' Wild In Chicago by Magic Sam
ALBUMRockin' Wild In ChicagoMagic Sam
Listen to Westside Guitar Wizard by Magic Sam
ALBUMWestside Guitar WizardMagic Sam
Listen to Give Me Time by Magic Sam
ALBUMGive Me TimeMagic Sam
Listen to Magic Blues Genius by Magic Sam
ALBUMMagic Blues GeniusMagic Sam
Listen to Magic Sam Blues Legends by Magic Sam
ALBUMMagic Sam Blues LegendsMagic Sam
Listen to The Magic Man by Magic Sam
ALBUMThe Magic ManMagic Sam
Listen to The Magic Sam Legacy by Magic Sam
ALBUMThe Magic Sam LegacyMagic Sam
Listen to Diamond Master Series - Magic Sam by Magic Sam
ALBUMDiamond Master Series - Magic SamMagic Sam
Listen to Magic Sam Live by Magic Sam
ALBUMMagic Sam LiveMagic Sam
Listen to Black Magic by Magic Sam
ALBUMBlack MagicMagic Sam
Listen to West Side Soul by Magic Sam
ALBUMWest Side SoulMagic Sam

About Magic Sam

Listen to Magic Sam, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Hometown
Grenada, MS, United States
Born
February 14, 1937
Genre
Blues
No blues guitarist better represented the adventurous modern sound of Chicago's West side more proudly than Sam Maghett. He died tragically young (at age 32 of a heart attack), just as he was on the brink of climbing the ladder to legitimate stardom, but Magic Sam left behind a thick legacy of bone-cutting blues that remains eminently influential around his old stomping grounds to this day. Maghett (one of his childhood pals was towering guitarist Morris Holt, who received his Magic Slim handle from Sam) was born in the Mississippi Delta. In 1950, he arrived in Chicago, picking up a few blues guitar pointers from his new neighbor, Syl Johnson (whose brother, Mack Thompson, served as Sam's loyal bassist for much of his professional career). Harpist Shakey Jake Harris, sometimes referred to as the guitarist's uncle, encouraged Sam's blues progress and gigged with him later on, when both were Westside institutions. Sam's tremolo-rich staccato fingerpicking was an entirely fresh phenomenon when he premiered it on Eli Toscano's Cobra label in 1957. Prior to his Cobra date, the guitarist had been gigging as Good Rocking Sam, but Toscano wanted to change his nickname to something old-timey like Sad Sam or Singing Sam. No dice, said the newly christened Magic Sam (apparently Mack Thompson's brainstorm). His Cobra debut single, "All Your Love," was an immediate local sensation; its unusual structure would be recycled time and again by Sam throughout his tragically truncated career. Sam's Cobra encores "Everything Gonna Be Alright" and "Easy Baby" borrowed much the same melody but were no less powerful; the emerging Westside sound was now officially committed to vinyl. Not everything Sam cut utilized the tune; "21 Days in Jail" was a pseudo-rockabilly smoker with hellacious lead guitar from Sam and thundering slap bass from the ubiquitous Willie Dixon. Sam also backed Shakey Jake Harris on his lone 45 for Cobra's Artistic subsidiary, "Call Me If You Need Me." After Cobra folded, Sam didn't follow labelmates Otis Rush and Magic Slim over to Chess. Instead, after enduring an unpleasant Army experience that apparently landed him in jail for desertion, Sam opted to go with Mel London's Chief logo in 1960. His raw-boned Westside adaptation of Fats Domino's mournful "Every Night About This Time" was the unalloyed highlight of his stay at Chief; some other Chief offerings were less compelling. Gigs on the Westside remained plentiful for the charismatic guitarist, but recording opportunities proved sparse until 1966, when Sam made a 45 for Crash Records. "Out of Bad Luck" brought back that trademark melody again, but it remained as shattering as ever. Another notable 1966 side, the plaintive "That's Why I'm Crying," wound up on Delmark's Sweet Home Chicago anthology, along with Sam's stunning clippity-clop boogie instrumental "Riding High" (aided by the muscular tenor sax of Eddie Shaw). Delmark Records was the conduit for Magic Sam's two seminal albums, 1967's West Side Soul and the following year's Black Magic. Both LPs showcased the entire breadth of Sam's Westside attack: the first ranged from the soul-laced "That's All I Need" and a searing "I Feel So Good" to the blistering instrumental "Lookin' Good" and definitive remakes of "Mama Talk to Your Daughter" and "Sweet Home Chicago," while Black Magic benefitted from Shaw's jabbing, raspy sax as Sam blasted through the funky "You Belong to Me," an impassioned "What Have I Done Wrong," and a personalized treatment of Freddy King's "San-Ho-Zay." Sam's reputation was growing exponentially. He wowed an overflow throng at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival, and Stax was reportedly primed to sign him when his Delmark commitment was over. However, heart problems were fast taking their toll on Sam's health. On the first morning of December of 1969, he complained of heartburn, collapsed, and died. Even now, more than a quarter-century after his passing, Magic Sam remains the king of Westside blues. That's unlikely to change as long as the subgenre is alive and kicking. ~ Bill Dahl

Similar to: Magic Sam

Discover more music and artists similar to Magic Sam, like Otis Rush, Freddie King, Elmore James
Listen to Otis Rush, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Otis Rush
Listen to Freddie King, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Freddie King
Listen to Elmore James, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Elmore James
Listen to Junior Wells, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Junior Wells
Listen to Jimmy Rogers, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Jimmy Rogers
Listen to T-Bone Walker, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
T-Bone Walker
Listen to Jimmy Reed, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Jimmy Reed
Listen to Earl Hooker, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Earl Hooker
Listen to Little Walter, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Little Walter
Listen to Sonny Boy Williamson II, watch music videos, read bio, see tour dates & more!
Sonny Boy Williamson II

Shazam Footer

Select language:

Company

  • About Us
  • Apps
  • Careers
  • Help for Apple Devices
  • Help for Android Devices
  • ShazamKit for Developers

Legal

  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Manage Your Data
  • My Library
Google Play Store
Apple App Store
Chrome Web Store
Galaxy Store

Follow Us

© Copyright 2025 Apple Inc. and its affiliates | Supplier Responsibility
instagramSharePathic_arrow_out