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T he P ortland O bserver » J uly 21, 1993
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John T. Samples, 95 Cuts First Album
John T . Sam ples turne d 95 on
to keep up w ith th is late m usic young
played g u ita r w h ile one m an play ed
January 10. F ive m on th s la te r on June
fo lk s sin g, ’cause I c a n ’t sin g those
bass and an othe r, ukelele. He also
N o bo dy’ s Business W h a t I D o ,A n d I
11, he cut his firs t album .
songs,” and g iv in g the im pression
played fo r dances in W est and East
L ik e Those S k irts ” and the sound o f
the g u ita r rin g th ro u g h em p ty room s
be released on cassette tape and possi­
tha t he has no desire to le a rn it. “ 1 Texas d u rin g the o il boom years.
p lay c h u rc h song I p la y pop song. 1
A t h is sm a ll, q u ie t house in the
p lay a fe w blues,” the elde r Sam ples deep Piney W oods o f East Texas, i t ’s
c h ild re n hang o n w a lls and sit on
b ly com pact disc.
said
ju s t h im , h is d og Joe B oy, and the o ld
tables.
g u ita r.
W hen he d o e sn 't feel lik e p ic k in g
the strings, he plays those songs on the
T he a lb u m w i ll feature some o f
h is ow n co m p o sitio n s and w ill th is fa ll
A f t e r h is r e c o r d in g
session ,
“ I c o u ld ’ve been fam ous, b u t I
S am ples’ p e rfo rm e d at “ T ra d itio n s o f
d id n ’t have no help T h is is a ta le n t the
" I t 's a lo n e ly life , liv in g b y y o '
the People,” a D a lla s F o lk F estival
M e D o w n A P alle t O n T h e F lo o r,
w here photos o f c h ild re n and g ra n d ­
per fro m the cabinet to w rite d o w n a
h im to M ic h e lle W illia m s . T h e y to o k
few ly ric s th a t com e in to his head.
the o n ly m u s ic ia n o f his k in d left,
a dem o to D a v id M cP herson o f M e r­
A t age 95, “ H e ’ s s till got it , ” his
a cco rd in g to A la n G ove m a r, p re s i­
c u ry Records, Then b o o m ! I t was on
fro m there.
daughter, Lena P rin ce o f T y le r, said
dent, D a lla s D A I, the n o n -p ro fit arts
w hen she heard he r fa th e r sin g one
co rp ora tion th a t isp ro d u cin g Sam ples’
recordings.
Sam ples was already p ic k in ’ the
g u ita r and s in g in ’ in 1903, w h en he
was fiv e w hen the blues o f the era was
sp rin g lik e day recently. H is son, John
N in e o f the eleven cuts were p ro ­
Samples, a John T y le r H ig h School
duced b y Joe, the o th er tw o w ere p ro ­
b a n d d ir e c to r w h o in h e r ite d
fa th e r’ s m usical tale nt, said h is in h e r­
duced by D ave (Jam m ) H a ll. He was
the one w h o w ro te fo r (M a ry J. B ly e ).
itance is w h a t m akes h im m ost proud
Joe is a ve ry g ifte d a rtis t and one that
d iffe re n t fro m th a t o f today.
tu n e s
one w a y tic k e t to N e w Jersey, w ith a
frie n d , Ise W illia m s w h o in tro d u c e d
Som etim es he takes a p e n cil and pa­
T h e K ilg o re , T exas na tive m ay be
o r ig in a l
church. W h ile w o rk in g fo r a te e -sh irt
shop in C o lu m b u s he de cid e d to get a
piano in the back roo m o f the house
sponsored by D o cum e ntary A rts Inc
( D A I ) and D a lla s M useum o f A rt.
H is
E
h is
Besides b e in g a g u ita ris t, M r
in c lu d e
Sam ples had a n o th e r dream . T he
“ H e s ita tin ’ W o m a n ” about a h e s ita tin ’
K ilg o re n a tive w anted to be a do ctor
w o m a n w ith the “ h e s ita tin ’ blues” ;
Because he d id n ’t fin is h college, he
“ I t ’ s A L o n e ly L ife , L iv in ’ by Y o ’ s e f’ ;
w o rked fo r m ore tha n 40 years d e liv ­
“ Y o u M a y N o t Be A n angel, A n g e ls
d e fin ite ly has a great fu tu re ahead. A
re a lly m ild , low -keyed brother, he rep­
resents what young
bum is slam m in!
A special thanks to W ayne Edwards
N ational P u b lic ity D ire cto r M e rcu ry
Records.
A re F ew ,” a lin e w h ic h is, “ T il T h e
D ru g u n til he re tire d a t 84. B u t r e tir­
B lo c k , “ Joe” . A t age tw e n ty-o n e his
m usic is soclea n, so pure, i t ’ s g o in g to
D a y Com es A lo n g , I ’ ll S tra in A lo n g
in g fro m h is m usic w ill never happen,
attra c t a lo t o f atten tion.
W ith Y o u ” ; “ T a ke M e B ack” ; “ Y o u r
he said. “ I ’ m g o in g to p lay ‘ t il I get so
B o m in C o lu m b u s, G eo rg ia , he
A lw a y s T e llin ’ M e T o W a it U n til Y o u
o ld I c a n ’t see m y strin g s,” he said.
developed his sin g in g at his fa th e r’ s
e rin g m ed icin e at K ilg o r e ’ s L o n g h o m
C a ll - I W a it and W a it and W a it and
B lu e s M a n 's M u s ic F i l l s L o n e s o m e H o u r s
A w h ile .”
good L o rd gave m e.” T h e blues era
self. I w a lk fr o m roo m to room , s itn ’ in
g ra d u a lly cam e to an end, but M r.
c h a ir to c h a ir.
in c lu d in g
“ L a z y B o n e s ,”
“ A in ’t
Sam ples refused to p u t aw ay the g u ita r
N o b o d y ’ s Business” ; “ O ne D ay A t A
he ’d been p la y in g since age five.
T im e ” ; “ O ld G ranp us Is Dead A n d
m y jo y .”
L a id In H is G rave” ; and “ M y D addy
fin were fav orites o f M r. Sam ples." Just
W as A Jockey A n d H e T a u g h t M eH ow
about a ll m y fa v o rite singers have
T o R id e .”
gone in .”
S a m p le s re m e m b e rs p la y in g
T h e blues m an once had his o w n
w ith some East T exas’ g re a ts -T o m m v
A fric a n A m e ric a n s trin g band, “ P o i­
A u s tin and Sam N e il. “ I d o n ’t try
son A n tid o te and P re v e n tio n .” He
T o young A fric a n -A m e ric a n men,
M r. Sam ples says to w o rk h a rd and
I f y o u e v e r been lo ne ly, y o u know
e x a c tly ho w I fe e l.
L o u ie A rm s tro n g and A n d y G r if ­
a lo n e ly life ,
obey the law . “ T re a t everybody w ith
courtesy. L iv e the best you can, and
I t ’s so lo n e ly liv in g b y y o 's e lf
I t 's
liv in g
the best w ill com e back to y o u .”
by
y o 'self. ”
He hasn’t p u t tha t advice in to
song ly ric s ju s t yet. M ayb e one o f these
M r. Sam ples said he w ro te “ L i v ­
days w h ile r o c k in g o n h is fr o n t
in g B y Y o ’ s e lf ’ because th a t is the
porch, th is liv in g legend w i ll w rite a
w a y he feels.
song th a t w ill he lp change A m erica.
O n o th e r days, the ly ric s to “ M a k e
He said tha t w ill m ake h im proud.
c
S y b il has a w a v o f ta k in g songs concrete. W h e n it came tim e to go to
and sh a p in g them to her o n e -o f-a - college, I chose to be a speech and
k in d style ...to
S y b iliz e
the m .
the ater a rts m a jo r w ith a m in o r in
I n S y b iliz a tio n , h e r th ir d a lb u m b ro a d ca stin g ”
on N e x t Plateau records, (and h e r fir s t
A fte r g ra d u a tio n , S yb il becam e a
since h e r w o rld -w id e T O P 20 p o p h it m a g a z in e e d ito r and p ro o fre a d e r.
“ D o n ’ t M a k e M e Ov e r,” and h e r T O P
S in g in g was he r weekend h o b b y’ she
“I
hem m ed
and
haw d, but
sang in a jazz, band led by CeCe Rogers, eventually my frie n d ta lke d me in to
n o w w ith A tla n tic Records. S yb il re ­ g o in g do w n fo r an a u d itio n . James
ca lls the n ig h t a frie n d to ld h e r about lik e d my w o rk, and a m o n th la te r
a producer, James B ra tto n , w h o was ‘ F a llin g In L o v e ’ was done.” N e xt
Plateau released the track and it q u ic k ly
lo o k in g fo r a singer.
becam e a clu b and urban ra d io fa v o r­
30 pop h it “ W a lk O n B y” ), S y b il
ite. “ A fte r th a t” , S yb il says, “ w e ju s t
c o n firm s her place a m o ng the u n iq u e
kept ro llin g , and w h e n “ D o n ’ t M ake
R & B singers today.
M e O v e r” h it, I kn e w a ll the h a rd was
H e r firs t album . L e t Y o u r s e lf G o,
w o rth it.
in tro d u c e d he r to the w o rld as dance
T he blend in her m usic - fabulous
d iva , sp a w n in g the B ritis h h it “ M y
m elodies, so u lfu l, d is tin c tiv e vocals,
L o ve Is G uaranteed.” S yb il, O v e r,” j
m od em rh yth m s and p ro d u c tio n tech­
the d r iv in g fu n k o f “ Crazy 4 Y o u ,”
niques - m ake S ybil a u n iq u e and solid
fe a tu rin g labelm ates S alt-N -P epa, and
voice in to d a y’s m usic.
the s o u lfu l “ L iv in g fo r the M o m e n t.”
[N o te fro m E n te rta in m e n t E d i­
S y b iliz a tio n features “ O p e n U p
to r, T o n y W a sh in g to n A lth o u g h she
T h e D o o r,” a s tir r in g deep house tra c k
is ju s t d o in g p ro m o tio n a l to u rs now,
w h ic h S y b il co-wTOte, “ M a k e I t Easy
S y b il is back. T a lk in g w ith h e r about
O n M e ,” a lush R & B /p o p tu n e p ro ­
he r newest release there was n o th in g
duced by S to ck/A itke n /W a te rm a n , and
b u t p o sitive th in g s h a p p e n in g fo r her
the “ L e t It R a in ” Suite, a tr ip le dose o f
I had the o p p o rtu n ity to ta lk to her
ro m a n tic ballads.
about life and tha nks to B e ve rly Paige,
S yb il grew up in Patterson, N J in
I receiveda very cheerful w a rm hea rted
sum ed m ost o f her tim e , and s in g in g
story fro m her. S y b il’ s style o f m usic
was an e x tra c u rric u la r a c tiv ity .
is s im ila r to he r id o l, P a tti L a B elle.
“ I used to sing in C h u rc h , and I
H a v in g her o w n style, o f course,
was in a nu m be r o f school p la ys,”
and a very lo v e ly voice. S yb il is a
S y b il says. “ B u t I was p ra g m a tic .
e n te rta in e r w h o loves the real o u t­
People w o u ld alw ays say to m e, “ Y o u
doors I t ’ s fu n n y, I lik e the outdoors
ta le n t, b u t I w anted so m e th in g m ore
Look for Joe on tour with Toney, Tom,
Tone.
SCHOOLS OUT
Watch Out For
C H IL D R E N
Mt. Hood Jazz
Festival
Jazz legends o ld and new w ill p o p u ­
late the 12th annual M l H o od fe s tiv a l
F estival o f Jazz on Saturday are T om
o f Jazz, op en ing a three-day engage­
C u rtis Salgado and the A r t A b ra m s
m en t w ith a blue show o f F rid a y ,
S w in g M ach in e.
S cott, M a rk M u rp h y , the R ip p in g to n s,
A u g u s t 6 , and c o n tin u in g Saturday
S un da y’s pe rfo rm an ce w ill also
and Sunday ou tdoo rs at M t. H ood
feature Joe Sam ple, A rtu ro Sandoval,
C o m m u n ity C ollege.
M anhattan T ransfer and th e F ive B lin d
H e a d lin in g the S aturday, A u g u st
7, show w ill be noted saxophonist
B o ys o f A la ba m a. T h e F rid a y N ig h t
B ra n fo rd M arsa lis, whose set com es
a fte r perform ances by T.S. M o n k and
A lb e rt C o llin s , A .J. C ro ce and the
B ra z ilia n p ia n is t E lia n o E lia s, T .S.
leans.
B lu es E ve n t headlines R o b e rt C ray,
D ir ty D ozen Brass B and o f N e w O r­
M o n k is the d ru m m e r son o f the late
L o c a l tale nt in the fo rm o f the
T h e lo n io u s M o n k .
D ePriest/Scroggins B and w ill pe rfo rm
Sunday, A u g u st 8, w ill see the
at noon Sunday o n the F e stiva l (sid e)
eve ning show opened by legendary
stage, w here M a rg o T u fo sings F rid a y
n ig h t and B o b James and P in & the
ten or saxist S onny R o llin s . He w ill be
fo llo w e d by the C o un t Basie Band
H o m -its and C le n d e n in & K o t p la y
under the d ire c tio n o f F ra n k F oster
Saturday. T he R iv e rb o a t Jazz Band
and fe a tu rin g P o rtla n d saxo ph on ist
also plays Sunday.
K e n n y H in g .
T ic k e ts to the 1993 M t. H o o d Fes­
C lo s in g the Sunday show w ill be b r il-
tiv a l o f Jazz are $25 general a d m is­
lia n t g u ita ris t G eorge Benson, whose
sion, plus service charge, a va ila b le at
voca ls and g u ita r w o rk w ill be w ith the
Basie orchestra.
a ll G .I. Joe’ s T ic k e tm a s te r box o f ­
fices. Phone 22 4-4 400 . F e stiva l in fo r ­
O th ers D laving the 1993 M t. H o o d
m a tio n is a v a ila b le at 66 6-3 810 .
/222¿CT£ t 2 í 2 ~ í f
N a tio n a l D ire c to r o fP o ly g ra m records
a v e ry tra d itio n a l fa m ily . S cho ol co n ­
can sing. Y o u should de ve lo p y o u r
should be abouL Check it out! H is a l­
“ Then, I ’ m going to keep la ying . T h a t’ s
Y o u D o n ’t E ve r C a ll” ; and “ A fte r
He also sings o th e r a rtis ts ’ songs,
A fr o A m ericans
[N o te F ro m E n te rta in e r E d ito r, T o n y
W a sh in g to n : T h e re ’ s a n e w k id on the
S y b il’s style o f music is similar to Patti LaBelle
f\ TASTE OF PORTLAND
too. I had a chance to ta lk to an
e n te rta in e r on the serious T ip ! J
Poetic Justice
T h e A cadem y A w a rd
N o m i­ scencs lo o k at not o n ly the film m a k ­
Poetic Justice: F ilm m a k in g South
n a te d J o h n S in g le to n N e w M o v ie , in g process, but the process o f y o u n g C e n tra l Sty le is V e ro n ic a C h am b ers’
A n d J a n e t J a c k s o n ’ s F ilm D e b u t, A fric a n A m ericans succcedingagainst v ie w on life on the set w ith John
W it h P o e try B y M a y a A n g e lo u , C e l­ very' d iffic u lt odds
S in gleton B e h in d the scenes on a
B e h in d -T h e -S c e n e s
m
a jo r m o tio n p ic tu re set. the castin g
W ritte n by John S in g le to n and
B o o k ( I n c lu d in g A fo r e w o r d B y V e ro n ica C ham bers, S en io r A ssoci­ process, sco rin g the m ovie, character
S p ik e Le e).
ate E d ito r at Prem iere m agazine and d e v e lo p m e n t, a n d w o r k in g w ith
P o e tic J u s tic e 's b o o k Release one o f G la m o u r’ s T o p T e n C o lle ge p ro d u c tio n crew and m a jo r studio;
Celebrate
Diversity
e b r a te d W it h
T im e d T o C o in c id e W it h C o lu m b ia
P ic tu r e s ’ M a j o r M o tio n
P ic tu r e .
A S e le c tio n o f Q u a lit y P a p e rb a c k
B o o k C lu b .
W om en (1990). “ Poetic Justice” in ­ every aspect o f film m a k in g is co ve rcd
fro m a p ro fe ssio nal in s id e r’ s p o in t o f
cludes the poetry o f M aya A n g e lo u ,
whose b e st-se lling w o rks have been vie w .
Poetic Just ice also includes a chap­
re-discovered fo llo w in g her s tirrin g
John S in g le to n ’ s f ilm d ire c tin g reading at President C lin to n ’s In a u ­ te r on M aya A n g e lo u , whose w o rk is
debut “ B oyz N the H o o d ” was one o f g u ra tio n . and m arks the f ilm debut o f used th ro u g h o u t th e m ovie to repre­
H o lly w o o d ’ s true success stories A t Janet Jackson, whose new albu m on sent that o f the h e ro in e 's , and w h o has
age tw enty -fo u r. Si n g lcto n became the V ir g in Records is ju s t b e in g released a feature role as Ju stice 's aunt
youngest film m a k e r and the o n ly A f ­
ric a n A m e ric a n to be n o m in a te d fo r
Best D ire c to r and Best Screenplay by
the A cad em y o f M o tio n P ictures A rts
<& Sciences O ne year a fte r “ B o yz N
the H o o d ’ s c r itic a l a c c la im
John
“ Poetic Justice” is a story o f an
obstacles.Justice makes som e th in g o f South C e n tra l L o s A ngeles to H o lly ­
h c r s c lf- lik c the young m an in “ B oyz wood. and about h is o w n e x tra o rd i­
S in g le to n returns w ith his new m o v ie
N the H ood.” she is a s u rv iv o r
“ P oetic Justice ”
h a rd -h ittin g as John S in g le to n 's de­
A n d D e lta B oo ks
p ro u d ly releases Poetic Justice F ilm -
M ost im p o rta n tly . Poetic Justice
a s p irin g h a ird re sser Justice (Janet te lls ,lie story o f John S in g le ,o n 's o w n
Jackson) w h o waxes po etic in her surv iva l in the "h o o d ” S in g le to n talks
s p a re tim e
D e s p ite n u m e r o u s can didly about h is o w n jo u rn e y fro m
As
M U S IC
M IL L E N N IU M
32nd & E. BURNSIDE
2 3 1 -8 9 2 6
nary rise th ro u g h H o lly w o o d 's ranks
John S in g le to n is the w r ite r and
m a k in g South C e n tra l S tyle (J u ly 7,
but film . "P o e tic Justice" is also ro ­ d ire c to r o f “ Boy z N the H o od” and
m an tic. fun ny, and u ltim a te ly in s p ira ­ “ Poetic Justice.” He lives in Los A n ­
1993/$ 12.95) an in d e p th b c h in d -th c -
tio n a l
geles
23rd & NW JOHNSON
2 4 8 -0 1 6 3
• 22 Restaurants • 76 Music Acts
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