“I started writing this article for the Poteau Daily News over five years ago. I was still playing guitar a lil’ but my picking was winding down in more of a hurry than I wanted. So, in an effort to stay connected to the “Music Scene”, I asked for a space to use for sharing the schedule of local music (just Poteau, at the time). It has been a joy.
Then, I pitched another idea called Pioneers of Music in LeFlore County. I started with the musicians and bands from the 50’s and 60’s. Some were still playing and some were playing with the band in Hillbilly Heaven. Since I’ve started in Jan. of 2019, several musicians featured in my articles have gone on before us. It only seemed right to repost them in Memory of the Fallen. Music in our area has been better, more alive by the efforts on stage. To entertain, to give their music, more for the Love and Respect they felt for it with only a few ever seeing their names up in lights. Thank God for the time that I got to share with them making Live Music.”
TJW
Support Live Music #65 – March 31, 2019
Taking a look at the music career of Sam Harris.
“Remember when thirty seemed so old? Now looking back, it’s just a stepping stone to where we are, where we’ve been.” – Alan Jackson
Ya know, I visited with Sam, and like I have said before, these interviews with long-time musicians give them a chance to relive the people, places and music that brought them to this place and time. We played music together several times, so we had those stories. Sam had experience with Bluegrass, country, blues, R&R, rock-a-billy, and Jazz. His main thing was the music, no vices that trapped so many, and that made him a dependable, solid sideman for any band. He got called a lot to sit in on short notice and always covered the gig. He has over 50 years of being on stage, behind the stage, out front, and even one job that I know about as a bouncer in a joint.
He started life in Howe til bout 5 or so. His Dad, Sam, was a singer and played the Trumpet. I heard his name mentioned by Sheril Barlow in a past article. Bandleader, Swingin’ Sammy Harris, so that was one music heard in the home. His Mom played piano and accordion. Music was just a part of the family and he was encouraged to sing and learn to play piano. When the Harris family moved to Odessa, Sam Sr. had taken a football coaching job there, piano lessons were started. He was a natural, a quick study. In Jr. High, he took Choir, and got to sing with all three Gatlin Brothers. Purty good company!
When the family moved back to Poteau, Sam was in the 10th grade and a “Hoss” on the football field. I played guard and Sam played next to me at tackle. Our offense line averaged over 200 pounds. Coach Bowden and Coach Plummer worked our tails off and kept us in shape. Good years. “I must’ve been crazy but it kept me from going insane.” – Waylon
Sam lived just down the street from Pansy Kidd Jr. High and made friends with Poss Adams, who played a Gibson SG, so Sam bought a Fender bass and amp. They proceded to make a lil’ music. He remembered the first band was with Gaylen Lemming from Spiro.
After High School, Johnny Cowan approached Sam to play bass in a dance band. Johnny had the gig out at the Flame Club North of town. Friday and Saturday, the joint was hopping and the money was real good for the times. Sam was just 19, so there had to be a few strings pulled to make it happen, but it turned out to be a game changer. Johnny had a good band with Otis Dawes on drums. Johnny was good on guitar, sang the right songs, could work a crowd and justa all round entertainer. He encouraged Sam to join the Musicians Union in Ft. Smith and introduced him to some of the musicians that would later give Sam the chance to play more and with the best musicians in Ft. Smith like Bobby Whitaker, Bob White, The Bee Bumble band – the Stingers. This later put him in jobs all over town, up and down Garrison Ave., in the motel clubs that were big in the 70’s, even out on Midland. So the time he spent with Johnny was rewarding, on stage and off. When Sam moved on to play with Terry Hardcastle over in the Fort, I got the call in “75”, so I have Sam to thank for that interesting year at the Flame Club with Johnny, Phil Gardenhire, and David Wright. Just Takin’ Care of Business.
Not just tied to one style, Sam got the bug, the Bluegrass Bug! He played for a spell with Gene Newby and his Round Mountain Boys, and also Dawghouse Bass and Flat Top guitar for Dave Salsman. Dave was a Scruggs style banjo picker and Sam complimented his style of playing. They played at the bigger festivals around and got to play at Bill Grant’s Saw Creek Festival in Hugo several times. Sam even learned Banjo that he will pound out a breakdown now and again. That led to an unusual pairing, starting “Crab Grass” with Dale Fraze, Randy Barnes, Dennis Harlan, Dave and Sam. Played a lil’ at KLCO and outside events in LeFlore County.
The tales were coming fast and the timeline got blurry here. Sam has played with so many good musicians and sometimes 2-3 bands a week that he just touched on some of the high spots. And, like he said, we both have outlived a bunch of musicians. It is sad to see them go but it is a joy to hear them play and play well late in life. Once a musician, always a musician! More next week to fill in the gaps, New Mexico tales, lots more Ft. Smith stories and what has happened lately, and who Sam is playing with now.
“Remember when thirty seemed so old? Now lookin’ back, it’s just a steppin’ stone to where we are, where we’ve been.” – Alan Jackson
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