Personnel:
Sam Fletcher (vcl), Bill Finegan, Harry Betts (dir), Harry Edison, Bobby Bryant (tp), Lloyd Ulyate (tb), Ronny Lang, Ted Nash, Ed Rosa, Jules Jacob (reeds), Gerald Wiggins (p), Emil Richards (vib, perc), Barney Kessel, Tom Tedesco (g), Jimmy Bond (b), Jackie Mills (d)
Reference: BMCD 892
Bar code: 8427328008921
· Collector's Edition
· Issued in Digipack
· 2 Original LPs on 1 CD
· Original Cover Art and Liner Notes
· Stereo Recordings
· Newly Remastered in 24-Bit
Though Sam Fletcher (1933-1984) began singing as a child in the churches of his native Memphis, Tennessee, it was only in 1959 that he made his recording debut with two singles for M-G-M’s subsidiary, Metro. His big baritone voice found favour with critics and audiences and led to several more singles, first for Cub—another M-G-M brand—and then RCA Victor, and Warner Bros. Signing for Vee-Jay Records in 1964, he made his classic LP “Sam Fletcher Sings, I Believe in You.” By then, Sam and his family had moved to Los Angeles, and in 1967 he recorded his second and last album, “The Look of Love—The Sound of Soul,” for Vault Records. An eclectic collection of standards and pop tunes arranged and conducted by Harry Betts, it was dramatic verification of Sam’s versatility which included a new version of I Believe in You—his signature song recorded for RCA in 1961.
But in late 1967 he was arrested for heroin possession, and though he eventually cleaned up his act, his career was effectively over. His biggest fans included some of history’s greatest vocalists, among them Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin and Nancy Wilson, and he left behind a legacy of music and performing that recalls a bygone era of class and sophistication.
