Sammy Hundley

Sammy was born April 26, the youngest of three children and the only boy at their home in tiny Hull, Texas. He grew up singing with his mother and sisters around their piano. The kids would take turns finding different harmony parts before they knew what the word "harmony" even meant.

His voice, however, was a little odd - he had a deep, gruff voice that compelled his parents to take him to the doctor to get checked out. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health and he never went through the "squeaky" stage that most adolescents endure. Things are better now.

It was in the serenity of the small, rural, southeast Texas community called Hull that Sammy found safe harbor from teenage mischief in the discovery of music.

In 1980, when Sammy picked up his first guitar and began learning how to make a few chords, the odds were stacked against him. Sammy, being a lefty, had to deal with one fairly certain fact: there was no abundance of left-handed guitars in Hull, Texas. So, Sammy did the next best thing and the only thing he could do at the time - he learned to play upside-down. To make that more clear, Sammy took a right-handed guitar, flipped it over where he could play it left-handed and he had to learn how to make all the chords that way. Not too much later, he turned the strings over and re-learned left-handed. In effect, Sammy learned to play twice -A feat which, in later years, would enable him to become one of the finest guitar teachers in the Houston area. Six months later, his father used his Christmas bonus from the oilfield work he did and got him a left-handed Fender Stratocaster.

Within a couple of months of learning to play, Sammy began playing in his first band. He hasn't looked back since.

In the years that followed, Sammy began honing his musical talents and defining the direction that his music would take him. He sat-in on various recording sessions on albums, demos and parodies for radio conglomerate United Stations in New York for a while and continued to perfect his craft. Sammy had become a proficient keyboard player, acoustic guitarist, bass guitarist, electric and lead guitarist, background and lead vocalist while dabbling in every facet of music from classical to jazz, rhythm & blues to pop, and country to rock. Sammy has had many students, teaching all types of guitar and piano. Being an ambidextrous player, Sammy had no problem adapting to instructing left or right-handed students.

Sammy has been involved with various cover and original bands including Chris Walker, musical director for Al Jarreau and hit singer in the '90's (Sammy performed in Shanghai, China in September 2004 with Walker), "The Ruse" (which also contained the acoustic duo known as Pete & Sam), Trick Dog, Radio personality and comedian Chris Baker's bands "The Voodoo Playboys" and "The Chick Magnets", original band "Forte" (jazz-fusion, mostly instrumental), variety bands "Yvonne Washington", "The Allstars" and a couple of appearances each with local legends "TK-oh!" and "Doppelganger."

Some of Sammy's influences are cited as being: (HIGHLIGHTS ONLY) - Billy Joel, Elton John, Michael McDonald, Lennon & McCartney, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Phil Keaggy, Larry Carlton, Ray Charles, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Smokey Robinson, Carol King, among a host of others.

Sammy can be heard all over the greater Houston area singing covers and music that he has written himself, such signature songs as "Umbrella," which have become a favorite of Houston audiences. Check the calendar on this site for appearances.