Why Are We So Busy? | A Tribute to Sam Andrew

Broadcast on 28 February 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KOMY AM 1340 and KSCO.com Live Stream.

'It's A Question Of Balance' balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world.

For more info on Ruth and the show go to www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

HOUR 1: Talk With Listeners' Views

Hour 2: Begins at 0:53 minutes (Audio at bottom of the page) A Tribute to Sam Andrew

 

Photos: Left: Sam Andrew by Keizo Yamazawa; Middle: Ruth Copland & Sam Andrew; Right: Big Brother and The Holding Company by Lisa Law.

This week I am featuring a tribute to Sam Andrew of Big Brother and the Holding Company who sadly passed away in the arms of his wife, Elise, on Thursday,  February 12th in San Francisco. Sam was a friend and previous guest on It’s A Question of Balance and was a phenomenal human being. The first interview I did with Sam was backstage at the Monterey Pop Festival 45 year celebration. As a tribute to Sam I am featuring excerpts from these two interviews.

Big Brother and The Holding Company, was originally composed of Janis Joplin, Peter Albin, Sam Andrew, James Gurley and Dave Getz. As a singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist and founding member of Big Brother and The Holding Company Sam Andrew had multiple hits and three platinum albums to his name. A prolific songwriter all his life, Sam wrote his first song when he was six and by the age of 15 had his own band and weekly TV show, an Okinawan version of American Bandstand. Of his early compositions, "Call on Me" and "Combination of the Two" have been two of Big Brother’s most enduring classic tracks and are still concert favorites today. Sam Andrew and Janis Joplin also recorded an album together as the Kozmic Blues Band called ‘I Got Dem Old Kozmic Blues Again Mama’. Sam and original band mate James Gurley produced some of the greatest psychedelic guitar solos of all time. In February of 1997, Guitar Player magazine listed the work of Sam and James on "Summertime" as one of the top ten Psychedelic solos in music history. 

When Big Brother stopped performing in 1972, Sam moved to New York where he studied harmony and counterpoint and also scored several films in the US and Canada as well as writing two string quartets and a symphony. Sam remained in the east for eight years before returning to San Francisco where he began playing clarinet and saxophone. He was also an artist of note.

After Big Brother reunited in 1987, Sam provided a wonderful variety of fresh new songs to the band. A sensitive and thoughtful man, his personality is reflected in the lyrics of his beautiful ballads. When Big Brother was not not on the road, Sam pursued his solo project, The Sam Andrew Band. His last CD released in 2014 is Coast to Coast (On A Piece of Toast).

Sam will be sorely missed by fans, friends, and family but, despite the sadness, I know that all who knew him or were touched by his music will be glad that his presence graced their lives.

This week as a tribute to Sam It's A Question of Balance is featuring excerpts from Ruth Copland's two interviews with Sam Andrew. 

For more information go to Www.bbhc.com and to www.cdbaby.com/cd/andrewdaviesnieveswall to purchase his last CD.

To give money to the Sam Andrew Medical and Memorial Fund to help Sam's wife go to www.youcaring.com/memorial-fundraiser/sam-andrew-medical-expense-memorial-fund/305292

For more info on It's A Question Of Balance go to www.itsaquestionofbalance.com