Remembering “Sweet” Sam Myers

by Alan Cohen

On Monday morning, the legendary "Sweet" Sam Myers passed away after battling throat cancer for nearly two years. Visitation for Sam will be held on Thursday, July 20th at the Sandra Clark Funeral Home from 6-9 PM. The funeral service will be held at the same location on Friday, July 21st at 11 AM.

A few members of the blues community were kind enough to share some of their memories and thoughts about Sam with me. Here is what they had to say...

“The one good thing about this, ya know, was that [Sam] wouldn’t of been happy not performin' and singin' anyway. Sam was the kinda guy that he’d be out on tour with Anson for a month and a half, and get back in town and he’d be out at a jam that night. That's who he was.”

-Mike Morgan

"Sam and i spent a great deal of time together. We shared a house for two years, and he would come to all my gigs and jams when he was not out on the road. He had such a passion for the blues, if he wasn't playing himself he would go to a gig somewhere and sit in, he loved music that much. He lived his life for blues music, and he gave it his all, whether it was a small club or a festival, he never held it back."

-Hash Brown

"Sam was a REAL blues man. I have seen him come in town, after 6 weeks on the road with the band, and ask to be dropped off at a club for the jam session, instead of at home. He lived for his music and the music lived through him. He was a genuine character and was loved deeply by the blues community here, and around the world. He was one of a kind.

Fortunately, for all of us, a local fellow, Jeff Horton, helped him write a book, in his own words, which will be published later this year. I wish he had lived to see that."

-Don O.

Sam will be missed.