biography
Veteran country entertainer Sammy Sadler is singing better than ever and he's back with a brand new single, "Heart Shaped Like Texas," produced by Jerry Cupit. Legendary tastemaker (and Music Row columnist) Robert K. Oermann, calls the record “terrific,” and says, “Sammy is an absolutely great country singer.” Sadler’s far-ranging and distinctive vocals should make instant believers out of new listeners everywhere, and bring a smile to his legion of faithful fans.
“I’m not the 21-year old kid I once was,” he says. “I’ve grown as a man, and I don’t second-guess the paths my life has taken.” Sadler, however, feels certain that the time for his music to be heard is now. Born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Texas, Sammy is soft-spoken but intense; light-hearted yet full of faith. But most of all, Sammy Sadler is filled with music. He enjoyed six charting singles on Evergreen Records before a tragic shooting left him injured, and killed his friend Kevin Hughes, in 1989’s real-life “Murder on Music Row.” While determined to avoid allowing the incident to dictate his future, Sammy understands that it has nonetheless left an indelible mark on his life, and in the way others perceive him. “It will always be a part of who I am,” he observes. “But I survived. And I believe that there’s a reason that I’m still here – and I thank God for giving me that chance.” Sammy believes his music is the reason he’s still among the living. “It’s been hard sometimes,” he admits. “But if I was a quitter, I would’ve quit a long time ago.”
“Quitter” isn’t a word that that anyone would ever use to describe Sammy. He worked hard and recovered from his injuries and went on the road with his band Overdrive, touring the U.S. and Canada for nearly five years. They shared the bill with the top country acts of the day (Joe Diffie, Billy Dean, Toby Keith, Steve Wariner, Willie Nelson), and Sadler made several national television appearances as well (Country Music Television, Entertainment Tonight). Eventually, Sammy disbanded the group and walked away from two years’ worth of bookings because of management and personnel issues. “I loved performing,” he says. “But I wanted to make records.” And he did just that; working almost two years, to find the songs and record his 2004 release, HARD ON A HEART.
His past hits (“That Ole Gravel Road,” “I Know A Place,” “Hard On A Heart”) have given him an established fan base, and with new management in place (Joe Bob Barnhill and Doug Deforest), it’s a sure bet Sadler is headed down the right road – at last. Sidelined for most of 2006 with a painful back condition, Sammy is on the road to recovery – and on the charts. “Heart Shaped Like Texas” is just the beginning of the great things to come from Sadler, whose fans can expect more strong songs from his upcoming CD, due out first quarter 2008.
August 2007