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View Full Version : Did sammy strain ever sing lead with the o'jays?

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arr&bee
10-19-2017, 01:41 PM
He was with them a long time but i don't have any songs with him on lead,did he ever get out in front?
marv2
10-19-2017, 01:55 PM
I saw him sing a brief lead with them in Atlantic City, but I do not think he recorded any leads while in the group.
arr&bee
10-19-2017, 02:40 PM
Marv,do you think that the writers just wrote for[walter-eddie]and just left sammy out?
marv2
10-19-2017, 06:57 PM
Marv,do you think that the writers just wrote for[walter-eddie]and just left sammy out?

I think that like other groups [[you may know what I mean) that because Eddie and Walter had become the "sound" of the O'Jays, they were given all of the leads and they were written specifically for them.

Now if either of them ever left the group and the O'jays continued on. The new singer would have to learn all of the leads that would be left vacated similar to what's happened to the Tempts and Tops over the years.
TomatoTom123
10-20-2017, 04:15 AM
Good question arr&bee... I have wondered this also... anyone know what his voice was like? [[high or low pitched?)
honest man
10-20-2017, 12:38 PM
Good question arr&bee... I have wondered this also... anyone know what his voice was like? [[high or low pitched?)Tom there is a clip of Sammy with his wife Yvonne Fair on Soul Train and Sammy is singing with her,like you i really would like to hear his voice,also some great clips on YT of Sammy singin with Little Anthony and Imperials-Ojays,cheers mate.
TomatoTom123
10-20-2017, 08:02 PM
Tom there is a clip of Sammy with his wife Yvonne Fair on Soul Train and Sammy is singing with her,like you i really would like to hear his voice,also some great clips on YT of Sammy singin with Little Anthony and Imperials-Ojays,cheers mate.

Ah, yes, you are right, hman, Sammy is on those Yvonne Fair clips... I have watched them several times before in fact... lol, I guess I love them that much. However, while it definitely is Sammy up there, I’m not sure he actually does any singing.

With “Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On” it’s definitely Marvin Gaye in the background and Sammy lip-syncs Marvin’s vocals, so that’s definitely not his voice. For the performance of “Walk Out The Door If You Wanna” Sammy does the spoken intro, playing the part of Yvonne’s husband [[which, of course, he really was) but I’m not sure that he’s actually on the song itself. I have reason to believe it might be Norman Whitfield doing the intro... hmm... :)
marv2
11-05-2017, 11:12 AM
Here's a clip where you can really here Sammy singing. I did not know that before he joined Little Anthony & the Imperials he was an original member of the Fantastics! Sammy goes way, way back! Here he is reunited with his original group from the 50s, the Fantastics:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W620x9_Yjaw
marv2
11-05-2017, 11:16 AM
Sammy Strain is one hellava nice guy too! I remember seeing him with the O'Jays in Atlantic City in 1990. Prior to their show, he spent a huge amount of time greeting and talking to fans in the lobby before heading back to get ready for their show. Nice guy.
marv2
11-05-2017, 11:27 AM
Sammy Strain with his original group, The Fantastics:

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marv2
11-05-2017, 11:46 AM
He joined Little Anthony and the Imperials later on. I am not sure what year he joined though:

13724
marv2
11-05-2017, 11:54 AM
Sammy is one of the few artists in music history that is a double Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, having been inducted with the O'Jays in 2005, and the Imperials in 2009.
marv2
11-05-2017, 12:26 PM
This is one of Sammy's very first TV appearances with the O'Jays:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LET1kRd8JGE
marv2
11-05-2017, 12:42 PM
Wow, I am learning all kinds of things about Sammy Strain's amazing career. He was also a member of another group back in the 50s called "The Chips" check them out:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_D_mwTcsKk
marv2
11-05-2017, 12:45 PM
Sammy was also a member of this group, The Impacts!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epq7sK1YmXA
TomatoTom123
11-05-2017, 08:46 PM
Wow Sammy was in a lot of groups then! Amazing that he is in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice though. What a career!
marv2
11-05-2017, 08:55 PM
Wow Sammy was in a lot of groups then! Amazing that he is in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame twice though. What a career!

Sammy is a very talented and super nice guy. He is also a legend now.
marv2
11-05-2017, 10:15 PM
Here's a lead Sammy did as a member of Little Anthony and the Imperials, "A Thousand Miles Away"...very nice!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wWcihIg3yo
arr&bee
11-06-2017, 11:31 AM
Great info marv,thanks,sammy had quite a career.
marv2
11-06-2017, 12:22 PM
Great info marv,thanks,sammy had quite a career.

You're welcome JAI. I knew he was too polished to be just a beginner when I saw him with the O'Jays. I had forgotten that he had been one of the Imperials by the mid 70s.
doowopsvoice
03-30-2019, 10:52 AM
Sam sang lead on at least one song on the Traveling at the speed of light lp. After he left the group Eddie and Walter both said that they wanted him to sing more lead. Just before he joined The O'Jays he was rehearsing some lead vocals with my group, The Fandangos. https://www.facebook.com/lonnie.cook.731
marv2
03-30-2019, 12:46 PM
Sam sang lead on at least one song on the Traveling at the speed of light lp. After he left the group Eddie and Walter both said that they wanted him to sing more lead. Just before he joined The O'Jays he was rehearsing some lead vocals with my group, The Fandangos. https://www.facebook.com/lonnie.cook.731

Wow, Hey doowopsvoice thanks for that info!