CALVIN "FUZZY" SAMUEL
The man in the bowler hat...
SS on Fuzzy - MP3
Born in Caribbean, on the island of Antigua, Calvin grew up in
London, England.
He taught himself to play piano, ukelele and acoustic guitar,
later switching to bass.
He began traveling in England and Europe with various soul and
R&B bands. He
started writing and recording with Eddy "Electric Avenue" Grant,
then of the English group, The Equals;while also playing with
guitarist Junior Marvin of
Bob Marley & The Wailers, where he got the nickname 'Fuzz' by
playing his bass through a fuzz box.
He formed the first all-black power trio in England, The
Sundae Times, scoring a top ten hit in Israel with a song called
"Abba Abba",
written and produced by Eddy Grant for the album, "Us Colored
Kids."
The band included singer/guitarist, Dell Richardson and drummer
Conrad Isadore.
This led to the making of Stephen Stills' first two solo albums
STEPHEN STILLS and STEPHEN STILLS 2
which included superstars Jimi Hendrix, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton,
Billy Preston, The
Memphis Horns, Mama Cass, and Rita Coolidge,
During this time he worked and lived with P.P. Arnold for six
years,
performing under the name Axis. While working with
Stills a big break came, getting him a position with Crosby, Stills,
Nash & Young.
With CSNY he toured the United States, recored their legendary
live
album, Four Way Street, and also performed on their classic single,
"Ohio."
Working sessions between London and Los Angeles, he became part
of
Stephen Stills band, "Manassas," with
Chris Hillman, Dallas Taylor, Joe Lala, Paul Harris and Al Perkins,
cutting
the epic 1st double album entitled "Manassas," and the follow
up lp, "Down the Road."
"Manassas" toured for three years, in the US and abroad, to rave
reviews for their
diverse mix of music, they covered the gamut
from blues, to bluegrass, folk, rock and a sprinkling of country.
They were hugely innovative at the time.
In the later 70's he also performed with the group America and
appeared with Neil Young
in his concert movie "Rust Never Sleeps."
In the 80's he wrote and recorded songs with Marianne Faithful
along with Steve Winwood.
Later he joined the Alvin Lee Band along with Mick Taylor touring
for over six
years. For Taj Mahal, he worked on the Broadway musical, "Mule
Bone" written by Langston Hughes and Zora Lee Hurston, with music
composed by Taj starring blues man Kenny Neal.
In the early ‘90s he teamed up with Bobby Keys, Mick Taylor, Nicky
Hopkins and Ivan
Neville as "Tumbling Dice".
Now he is performing solo on the Bouzouki a World Beat blend of
Blues, Reggae, Calypso, Classic Rock and African folk songs.
FUZZY has a new album recorded at his home studio.
MORE ON FUZZY 2003 HERE