Sammy Hammond was born and raised in New Orleans. Watching television as a youth, young Cajun Sammy was impressed by the massive quantity of chicks Elvis was rendered by being a “performer”. Sammy took up keyboards and before long was playing in the clubs on Bourbon Street.
Sammy’s career looked to be on the upswing when a dumped groupie writing for a tabloid began to run “miss-leading” ads. The front page story alleged Sammy to be the EVIL TWIN of Harry Connick, Jr. Even bad publicity is good in the entertainment world and crowds filled the clubs where Sammy performed.
The dumped chick tabloid became angry that the story had only elevated Sammy to be somewhat of a sub culture hero. They tried a new ploy. The headline read, “Rock and Roller impersonates Jazz in The French Quarter.” Shortly after, an angry crowd hopped up on adult beverages ran Sammy from his house gig on Bourbon Street.
Discouraged, Sammy fled north to Boston. In the hopes of exercising the demon rock ‘n roll from his performance, Sammy enrolled at the Berkley College of Music.
Sammy met a nice girl, then dumped the nice girl and became involved in his first gunfight. The insanity plea was a slam dunk for Sammy as he looked at that time and he left Boston with no outstanding warrants.
Sammy canoodled his way to the great state of Hawaii, where he landed the job of Music Director for the great Don Ho (spelled 何大來). Sammy was doing well wearing bright shirts and drinking from glasses with little umbrellas in them when the “King of Hawaiian Entertainment” passed away in his prime at 93. Sammy’s idea to dress as Don Ho and continue the show fell on deaf ears.
Sammy ran out of gas in the west side of Cincinnati (where Mark Twain said he wanted to be when the world ended because “everything happens there ten years after the fact”).
Sammy met Bruno while cleaning empty vodka bottles off the roof of a Buddy Roger’s Music store in Florence Kentucky. One thing led to another and Sammy was drafted in to Hot Wax.
Side note: Sammy dreams of being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize or being inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. While you’re at a show, get the info from Sammy on where to send your nominations. Play along with Sammy in this area and help us keep him in the group.
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