Shortly thereafter, the band added saxophonist Butch Gibson.Īfter paying to record and press records to sell at gigs, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs wound up with the XL label in Memphis. Martin replaced them with drummer Jerry Patterson and guitarist Ray Stinnett and changed the band's name to Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. In late summer 1963, Andy Anderson and Vincent Lopez left to return to Texas. In June 1963, The Nightriders headed for Memphis, Tennessee, and became the house band at The Diplomat. It was here that Sam took the name Sam the Sham from a joke about his inability as a vocalist. The Nightriders became house band at The Congo Club, near Leesville, Louisiana. Andy and the Nightriders were Andy Anderson, David A. In May 1963, Vincent Lopez was playing for Andy and the Nightriders in Louisiana. In 1962, the group made a record that did not sell and later disbanded. The other members of The Pharaohs were Carl Miedke, Russell Fowler, Omar 'Big Man” Lopez, and Vincent Lopez (no relation to Omar). In Dallas in 1961, Sam formed The Pharaohs, the name inspired from the costumes in Yul Brynner's portrayal as pharaoh in the 1956 film The Ten Commandments. That lasted about two years, before I dropped out and became a carny.' He recalled: 'I was studying classical in the daytime and playing rock and roll at night.

After graduating from high school, Samudio joined the Navy, where he was known as 'Big Sam.' He lived in Panama for six years, until his discharge.īack in the States, Samudio enrolled in college, studying voice at Arlington State College, now the University of Texas at Arlington. Later, he took up guitar and formed a group with friends, one of whom was Trini Lopez. Samudio made his singing debut in second grade, representing his school in a radio broadcast.

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