Chicago blues drummer and vocalist, Sam Lay, has passed away at the age of 86. He played with musicians such as Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. The blues drummer died in Chicago on Jan. 29, 2022, from natural causes, according to Alligator Records.
He was born on March 20, 1935, in Birmingham, Alabama. His career began as a drummer in Cleveland, Ohio in 1954 when he joined the Moon Dog Combo. Three years later he joined the Original Thunderbirds. He left the group in 1959 when he moved to Chicago to work with Little Walter.
A year later he joined Howlin’ Wolf and spent the next six years performing with them. In 1966, Paul Butterfield hired him and bassist Jerome Arnold to play with him in his namesakes Blues Band. He toured with the band for a while until he accidentally shot himself.
He backed up Bob Dylan at the historic Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Afterward, he and Dylan recorded Highway 61 Revisited.
His famous double-shuffle can be heard on over 40 classic Chess blues recordings. Many would-be blues drummers envied the way he played.
He played drums for the classic 1969 Muddy Waters’ Fathers and Sons album. The late blues musician was the James Cotton Blues Band’s original drummer.
From there he played with George “Wild Child” Butler, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, the Siegel-Schwall Band, and the Sam Lay Blues Revival Band.
He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1992. His envied music earned him eight W.C. Handy award nominations. He was known for carrying a walking stick and wearing a cape.
In 2015 he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Afterwhich he told the South Bend Tribune that he had “enjoyed the moment of it, and everybody that was in that band, I enjoyed. I learned a lot from everybody in there, and they claim they learned a lot from me.”
He worked on “The Blues,” “The Howlin’ Wolf Story,” and “Sweet Blues: A Film About Mike Bloomfield.”
May he rest in peace.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
IMDb: Sam Lay
All Music: Sam Lay
Fox 32 Chicago: Chicago blues drummer Sam Lay dies at 86; played with Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters
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