Sammy Lowe
- This article is about the jazz trumpeter and arranger. For the pianist, see Samuel H. Lowe.
Samuel Milton Lowe (born May 14, 1918 in Birmingham; died February 17, 1993 in Birmingham) was a jazz and R&B trumpeter, arranger and composer.
Lowe was introduced to music early and performed with his brother James and sister Leatha in the Lowe Family Band. He attended Industrial High School where he was taught by band director George Hudson and legendary music director Fess Whatley. While still in school he began writing arrangements, some of which he sold to Whatley. He was invited to join Whatley's band, as well as the Black and Tan Syncopaters with Paul and Dud Bascomb. He later went on tour with Jean Calloway's big band.
Lowe accepted a music scholarship to attend Tennessee State College in Nashville in 1934 and toured with the Tennessee State Collegians big band as its music director. The next spring he was invited to join the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra in New York City, and soon became the group's primary arranger. Some of the band's hits produced during his tenure include "Tuxedo Junction," "After Hours," "Don't Cry Baby," and "Nona."
From the late 1930s to the late 1950s Lowe played trumpet and arranged music for the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra. In the 1960s he transitioned into rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He arranged two hit songs for James Brown (""It's a Man's Man's Man's World"" and "Prisoner of Love"), and also arranged for Benny Goodman, Peggy Marsh ("I Will Follow Him"), Roy Hamilton ("You Can Have Her"), Sam Cooke, the Sandpebbles ("Forget It" and "Love Power"), the Softones, the Tokens ("The Lion Sleeps Tonight"), the Platters ("My Prayer"), Brook Benton, Cameo, Della Reese, Panama Francis, Pat Thomas and others.
As a composer, Lowe wrote advertising jingles for Fresca, Chesterfield, Jell-O, Dynachrome, 3M, and Narragansett Beer. He also produced albums for Laura Green and for the New World Soul Choir.
Lowe also played on recordings with many notable musicians, including Ed Ames, Paul Anka, Sam Cooke, the Cowsills, Connie Francis, Aretha Franklin, Joe Harnell, Al Hirt, and Nina Simone. He also led his own band, Sammy Lowe & His Orchestra, which recorded with King Curtis, and assembled two instrumental albums in 1963.
Lowe reassembled members of the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra for a 1971 recording session. He and his wife, actor Betty Haynes, resided in Teaneck, New Jersey and had one son, Sam Jr.
He later returned to Birmingham as arranger and conductor of the Birmingham Heritage Band. He and Amos Gordon wrote the group's signature tune, "Birmingham Is My Home."
Lowe was part of the inaugural 1978 class of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. He died in 1993 in a house fire along with his sister Leatha and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
Discography
- Sammy Lowe (1963) "The Gospel Strings". 20th Century Fox. TFS 4114
- Sammy Lowe (1963) "Hitsville U.S.A." RCA Victor LSP 2770
References
- "Sammy Lowe" (n.d.) "1978 Charter Inductees". Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame - accessed July 8, 2023
- Parker High School United Alumni Association (May 2000) "A Musical Family" in "The Record", p. 95 - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Marzette-Bolivar, C. (2001) Swing Lowe: A Family’s Dedication To Preserving Music in The Magic City Vantage Press ISBN 0533134358
External links
- Sammy Lowe at Findagrave.com
- [1] “Two Will Be Missed: Fire ends the lives of gifted and loved musicians; Birmingham Post-Herald; February 19, 1993, p. 29.