Texas songwriter Sam Neely (1948-2006) had a few big breaks in the '70s, but never really made it on the Country charts, and he was one of the many who gave up on Nashville and headed back to the Lone Star State. After recording several albums in the early '70s, he quit recording for several years opened up a club, then was briefly signed to another major label in the '80s, though again, nothing quite clicked commercially... Here's a quick look at his work.
Sam Neely "Long Road To Texas" (Capitol Records, 1971) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Gillin & Mike Taylor)
His first album sort of came out twice... This first version was part of a prestigious major label deal, and right after it came out, Capitol released a new song -- "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind" -- as a single which scored a modest, Top 30 hit. The success of that single was enough for Capitol to quickly reissue the album with the new song as the title track, and a slightly different song selection. (See below.)
Sam Neely "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind" (Capitol Records, 1972) (LP)
(Produced by Phil Gillin & Mike Taylor)
This is basically the same album as above, renamed and re-programmed to capitalize on the success of Neely's single, "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind," which cracked into the Top 30, and ultimately proved to be Neely's biggest chart success. Two songs were swapped out from the original release, though for the most part the album remained unchanged
Sam Neely "Neely 2" (Capitol Records, 1973) (LP)
(Produced by Rudy Durand & Greg Venable)
Sam Neely "Down Home" (A&M Records, 1974) (LP)
(Produced by Rudy Durand, Bobby Hart & Danny Janssen)
Sam Neely "Two Of A Kind" (Astro Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Sam Neely & Mike Taylor)
Recorded at Mickey Gilley's studio on Texas, this indie album was later picked up and reissued by MCA, yielding Neely a couple of modest, Back Forty hits in '83 and '84...
Sam Neely "Son Of The South" (Taliesyn Records, 1999)
(Produced by Sam Neely & Mike Gregory)
Sam Neely "Sam Neely" (Taliesyn Records, 2003)
(Produced by Sam Neely & Mike Gregory)
