Mr. Sam

Jefferson (The Scandinavian Blues Magazine)

Mr. Sam

Lookin’ 4 Love

MíLaĴa

(41 min)

Mr. Sam is one of many talented young singers in Southern Soul, who are coming now. The albums masterpiece is I´m Comin’ Home, which is an emotional song about Mr. Sam who´s coming home as a better man. He apologizes for earlier mistakes and says it´s for real now. Right after quality wise is the next song, 12 Steps 4 Cheaters. It´s about deprogramming of infidelity, to which Mr. Sam includes himself. Mr. Sam sings with such an intense feeling that you actually believe he´s going to succeed. These are ballads and both have been decent hits. Of the dance tunes both Dirty South Steppin' and Work Yo Body are hypnotic workouts ranking A+. The other songs are good, even if not at the same level. Maybe a little too polished. No sex songs. Mr. Sam counts on his singing ability without the help of something extra.

A great record with a mixture of Soul Blues and Soul, which gets better the more you play it.

Anders Lillsunde

- Jefferson Blues Magazine, Stockholm, Sweden

The next performer was singer and songwriter, Sam Fallie. He has collaborated with a lot of artists in the Memphis area including J. Blackfoot, Archie Love and The Bar-Kays just to name a few but now its time for "MR. SAM" to step out of the shadows and make his mark in the industry. He opened his performance with "SINCE YOU BEEN GONE" and he wasted no time in taking his show to the fans. He was full of energy and had the crowd hyped. Mr. Sam displayed some nice footwork as he danced his way through this song that had a lil Al Green vibe to it. He closed his performance with his smash hit "12 Steps 4 Cheaters" and this song has dominated a lot of airtime on every dj's playlist. It has to be a popular hit with the fans in Memphis too because they made a lot of noise when the music track got started. He was feeding off the crowd as he poured a lot into this performance. I was really impressed with his style and showmanship as he looked like a seasoned performer out there doing his thing. For you fans who haven't heard this brother sing you are going to enjoy his music for real. To buy his music and find out more on Mr. Sam please go to www.myspace.com/jeamrsam. I really enjoyed this performance, Mr. Sam welcome to DA DAWG POUND.
Big K-9 October 20, 2007
- Big K-9

MR. SAM

Lookin’ 4 Love

MiLaJa – No #

Mr. Sam (born Sam Fallie) is better known in his native Memphis as a songwriter than as a front-line artist-he’s penned tunes for J. Blackfoot, the modern-day Bar-Kays, and Sir Charles, among others. This is his first full length studio project under his own name.
ven cranky old-schoolers such as myself have to admit that synthesized production has made remarkable strides in recent years it’s virtually impossible here to tell what’s “live” and what’s sampled and/or automated. Some attractive guitar work weaves its way through the mix, and Sam himself demonstrates a remarkable ability to temper his rhythmic, timbral, and melodic flow to meld with what’s going on around him-indeed, the term “backing track” is almost anomalous: singer, musicians, producer, and technology share the stage on equal footing.
As a vocalist, Sam can gasp, tremble, murmur, and coo with the best of them (at times he evokes Al Green at his most vulnerable), although one occasionally wishes he’d summon a little more grit. On its own terms, though, his work resonates with wit and imagination. In 12 Steps For Cheaters he takes what could have been an insufferably cutesy conceit and makes it work by infusing it with a balance of sincerity and ironic detachment. Work Yo Body is an exultant and propulsive entry into the “step and slide your cares away down at the club” dance track sweepstakes; Teach Me, although dangerously close to crossing the line from pathos to bathos with its tinkle-tinkle piano line and satin string swashes, is an emotionally gripping plea that melds spiritual and romantic yearning in the great tradition.
Is this “blues,” “soul-blues,” “southern soul,” or “R&B”? It shouldn’t matter. The rhythms, words, emotions, and melodic textures here sound as if they’re drawn from what’s actually happening today on the street, in the club, in the bedroom-in the real world. Listen and understand.
DAVID WHITEIS October 2007 / LIVING BLUES
- Living Blues/ David Whiteis

Mr. Sam "Lookin' 4 Love" (****). The terrific title cut preceded the full length CD by several months and made it's mark on dozens of Southern Soul playlists, only missing the big charts due to lack of concentrated airplay (stations reporting it same week). "Sam" is no stranger to the charts, being part of the Bar Kays' writing staff and also author of the following hits: J. Blackfoot's "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", "I'm Just A Fool", Archie Love's "Should've Been There For You" & "Same Woman", Lacee's "U Gon Make Me Clown", Theodis Ealey's "Move With The Motion" and Jerry L's current hit, "Girls In Da Hood". Quite a track record over the last three years!
Now Mr. Sam is steppin' up front with hook-filled set of modern Soul music, possessing a yearning tenor of his own and a sense of melody. "12 Steps 4 Cheaters" is a stone cold gem. Playing off Alcoholics Anonymous and other self help programs Sam confesses his addiction to "slippin' around". But he "don't want to lose his wife" so he's "workin' day and night to get it right". If this doesn't conquer the Southern Soul charts there must be a conspiracy. The silky "I'm Coming Home" and "Work Yo Body", an irresistible dancer, featuring Archie Love, could be singles three and four. Other than the lightweight "Dirty South Steppin" there really isn't a bum track. Even "album tracks" like "Back In The Day", "Since You've Been Gone" and the autobiographical "Who's Mr Sam?" are as good as what's out there right now. Sam Fallie is a triple threat: Artist/Producer/Writer.
- Blues Critic

The Boogie Report
September 25, 2007


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Ms. Jody Still knockin em dead
Dre T and Lacee add extra spice to the Team AirPlay AllStars Tina Diamond's got a Smash Hit.
Everybodys askin William Bell,Who's Lola???
Simeo's Get low poppin in the clubs down south.
Dicky Williams' Sugar Daddy Great Song.
Sam Fallie has got a #1 record with 12 steps for lovers
Work That Thang is THE CUT on the new david Brinston
The Plummer by Charles Wilson Is Picking Up Steam

- Jerry (Boogie) Mason

Mr Sam - The song writer who became an artist

In the world of Soul and R&B every record company have their own staff of writers who delivers hits for the big stars. The situation used to be the same in the blues field, sixty years ago Bluebird Records made sure they had their own sound and Chess Records had Willie Dixon. But somewhere in the 1960’s the black blues lost it’s commercial appeal. The blues turned into an auteur-music, where it was genuine first when the artist wrote both the lyrics and music. When Malaco Records grew bigger twenty years later, the black blues again got dedicated song writers and in today’s successful southern soul market, there is a great need for good solid song writing.

The Memphis artist Mr Sam, Sam Fallie, is a new solo artist, but as for almost all of his colleagues in the modern blues and soul, he has been in the music business a long time. Sam got started in the late seventies when he performed with local bands and a few years later he got some moderate success with the group Perfectionist. In 1983 Allen Jones, the producer of the Bar-Kays, discovered Sam and asked him to join the Bar-Kays team as a song writer. Sam now focused on this new musical road and let his solo career rest. During the next five years he worked hard together with Jones and the Bar-Kays.

Allen Jones got more and more impressed with Sam and they started planning on recording an album with Sam. Unfortunately Jones had a heart attack in 1988 and for Sam the death of Jones was a hard blow. Sam disappeared from the music scene and got back to regular work instead. He even had a stint when he was in the streets and choose the wrong track for awhile. After ten years Sam got his life together and got back to music. During his absence the southern soul scene had turned more and more commercial and Sam’s song writing fitted the new market perfectly. He wrote for Archie Love, J Blackfoot, Lacee, Theodis Ealey and Bar-Kays. Several of the songs turned into hits for the artists. Sam Fallie was a name in the writing field again.

When he wrote a song for Terry Wright, Lookin’ 4 Love, it never got used. Sam liked the song and someone asked why he didn’t record it himself. The thought of being an artist again got Sam to search his drawers for other songs. He found several he wrote for other artists that had not been recorded.
I wrote these song for other people. Since I hadn´t anybody use them, I just put them on my album. I had a couple of songs I wrote new, Since you´ve been gone, Teach me, the rest of them was written for other people.
JEA Records couldn´t take on Sam and he released the album by himself, on Archie Loves label. But there no one had the time to really push the album. Then Sam met Jazzii Anderson. Jazzii is most known for being one of Bobby Rush’s dancers, but she also has her own production company, MiLaJa Records. Jazzii and her husband took Sam in on their label and it´s been a cooperation that Sam is more than pleased with.
I just love it, they are so supportive and good. It´s a big difference working in the background and being up front. I knew a lot of people before, but I didn´t have the connections that Jazzii have or the drive Jazziii has, she has a lot of drive with what she does, she has a lot of passion and she believes in me. – that´s the key.
Today it´s probably easier than ever before to record and produce an album on your own, but it´s still hard to reach out. The album Lookin’ 4 Love was released in 2007 and has since been on hit lists for Southern Soul. Marketing is the key thing.
We have to do a lot of show cases, meeting people interviewing me, lot of free stuff, it pays up. I´m new, I have to go and take my cd and [go out to the radio stations]. We need more of these magazine [pointing at Jefferson], we got Chitlin Circuit, Living Blues gave me a great write-up. I was shocked! Cause I didn´t know about that, it´s a big magazine and they gave me great write up. Blues Critic gave me thumbs up. Internet is very important, they are the only listings we have. Awards, the pay-off, because I can put that up front. People hear that and they Oh, who´s the best artist? [Package tours], that´s what draws people, TK Souland I are trying to get some stuff connected. We´ll probably do a cheating tour. TK, Mr Sam, Sir Charles Jones… That would be great.
To get the attention of the radio dj’s and recordbyers, the artist needs to have a style of his/her own, something that immediately hooks the audience. Mr Sam is fully aware of this.
It´s like wrestling, people recognizes the wrestlers. My hook is dancing. He´s moving! It´s important. That´s what makes people come to see you doing your thing. ! I take entertainment back to old school. I dance a lot. I like to move. I like to entertain. As far as I remember, the entertainers I used to love where energetic. They gave people something to look at. A lot of artist does come out and they just stand, I don´t understand that - Jefferson Blues Magazine