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Magic Sam

 


Chicago based blues musician Samuel “Magic Sam” Gene Maghett was born in Grenada, Mississippi, on February 14, 1937. He learned to play blues music by listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter. He moved to Chicago in 1956 and quickly found work in the West Side clubs. Then he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He deserted, spent six months in prison for desertion, and received a dishonourable discharge. Among others, he is associated with the record producer Willie Dixon, who highly regarded his unusual playing style. He toured Britain and Europe in the late 1960s. In 1969 he appeared at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, which led to fame.

Magic Sam suddenly died in Chicago, Illinois, on December 1, 1969 of a heart attack, aged only 32.

Image: Past Blues

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