Sammy Masters

Biography

Samuel T. Lawmaster (July 18, 1930 – March 8, 2013), known by his stage name Sammy Masters, was an American rockabilly musician. He is perhaps best known for his 1960 hit, "Rockin' Red Wing". Masters showed skill in music from an early age, debuting at 12 on the radio with Bob Wills. He recorded his first solo single in 1950 before serving in the Korean War, where he often performed for fellow soldiers. He worked at 4-Star Publishing as a songwriter and demo tape recorder from 1954-1957, where Patsy Cline recorded his "Turn the Cards Slowly" for a minor hit. Masters wrote for American Music in the intervening years before signing with Lode Records in 1960. His song "Rockin' Red Wing" first became a regional hit in California, eventually reached No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. It gave Masters his only appearance in the UK Singles Chart when it peaked at No. 36 in June 1960. His song "Who Can I Count On?" became the B-side to Willie Nelson's "Crazy". In the wake of Patsy Cline's success with the song, singers such as Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton covered "Who Can I Count On?". That same year Masters founded his own label, Galahad Records. He co-hosted a television program on KCOP in the 1960s and 1970s, and increasingly found work in TV production in the following decades. In 1997, he released Everybody Digs Sammy Masters, with Deke Dickerson and Ray Campi and toured the rockabilly revival scene in Europe and Japan.

Bio from Wikipedia