Magic Sam (Samuel Gene Maghett, February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969) was a… Read Full Bio ↴Magic Sam (Samuel Gene Maghett, February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969) was an American Chicago blues musician. He was born in Grenada, Mississippi, and learned to play the blues from listening to records by Muddy Waters and Little Walter. After moving to Chicago at the age of 19, he was signed by Cobra Records and became well known as a bluesman after the release of his first record, "All Your Love", in 1957. He was known for his distinctive tremolo guitar playing.

Magic Sam moved to Chicago in 1956, where his guitar playing earned him bookings at blues clubs on the West Side. He recorded singles for Cobra Records from 1957 to 1959, including "All Your Love" and "Easy Baby". They did not reach the record charts but had a profound influence, far beyond Chicago's guitarists and singers. Together with recordings by Otis Rush and Buddy Guy (also Cobra artists), they were a manifesto for a new kind of blues. Around this time Magic Sam worked briefly with Homesick James Williamson.

Magic Sam gained a following before being drafted into the U.S. Army. He served six months in prison for desertion and received a dishonorable discharge.

In 1963, he gained national attention for his single "Feelin' Good (We're Gonna Boogie)". He successfully toured the U.S., Britain and Germany. He was signed to Delmark Records in 1967, for which he recorded West Side Soul and Black Magic. He continued performing live and toured with blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite and Sam Lay.

Magic Sam's breakthrough performance was at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969, which won him many bookings in the U.S. and Europe.

His career was cut short when he suddenly died of a heart attack in December 1969. He was 32 years old. He is buried in the Restvale Cemetery, in Alsip, Illinois. In February 1970, the Butterfield Blues Band played at a benefit concert for Magic Sam, at Fillmore West in San Francisco. Also on the bill were Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite and Nick Gravenites.

His guitar style, vocals, and songwriting have inspired and influenced many blues musicians. In the film The Blues Brothers, Jake Blues dedicates the band's performance of "Sweet Home Chicago" to the "late, great Magic Sam".

The stage name Magic Sam was devised by Sam's bass player and childhood friend Mack Thompson at Sam's first recording session for Cobra as an approximation of "Maghett Sam". The name Sam was using at the time, Good Rocking Sam, was already being used by another artist.

"Magic Sam had a different guitar sound," said his record producer, Willie Dixon. "Most of the guys were playing the straight 12-bar blues thing, but the harmonies that he carried with the chords was a different thing altogether. This tune "All Your Love", he expressed with such an inspirational feeling with his high voice. You could always tell him, even from his introduction to the music."

Awards and recognition
1982, Blues Foundation Blues Music Award for Magic Sam Live in the category Vintage or Reissue Album of the Year (US)
1982, Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, induction as Performer
1984, Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, West Side Soul selected in the category Classics of Blues Recordings – Albums
1990, Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, Black Magic selected in the category Classics of Blues Recordings –

Partial album discography

1967 West Side Soul Delmark Recorded Chicago, 1967
1968 Black Magic Delmark Recorded Chicago, 1968
1969 Raw Blues Live 1969 Rock Beat Records Recorded in Berkeley, Calif., 1969
1980 The Late Great Magic Sam L+R Recorded 1963–64, 1969
1981 Magic Sam Live Delmark Recorded live in Chicago, 1963–64, and Ann Arbor, 1969
1981 Magic Touch Black Magic Recorded live in Chicago, 1966
1989 The Magic Sam Legacy Delmark Outtakes and alternate takes recorded in Chicago, 1966–68
1991 Give Me Time Delmark Solo demo and rehearsal home recordings, 1968
2001 With a Feeling – The Complete Cobra, Chief & Crash Recordings 1957–1966 Westside Most pre-Delmark recordings; also available as Out of Luck, P-Vine, 2003
2002 Rockin' Wild in Chicago Delmark Recorded live in Chicago, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968
2008 Genius: The Final Sessions Intermedia Previously unreleased
2013 Live at the Avant Garde June 22, 1968 Delmark Recorded live at the Avant Garde coffeehouse, Milwaukee, June 22, 1968

That's All I Need
Magic Sam Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All I want is nothing more
To hear you knocking at my door
'Cause if I could see your face once more
I could die a happy man I'm sure

When you said your last goodbye
I died a little bit inside
I lay in tears in bed all night

Alone without you by my side

But if you loved me
Why'd you leave me?
Take my body
Take my body
All I want is,
And all I need is
To find somebody.
I'll find somebody like you.

Oh oh

So you brought out the best of me,
A part of me I've never seen.
You took my soul and wiped it clean.
Our love was made for movie screens.

But if you loved me
Why'd you leave me?
Take my body,
Take my body.
All I want is,
And all I need is
To find somebody.
I'll find somebody.

Oh

If you loved me
Why'd you leave me?
Take my body,
Take my body.
All I want is,
And all I need is
To find somebody.
I'll find somebody like you.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Magic Sam's song "That's All I Need" tell a story of heartbreak, longing and the hope for a second chance at love. The singer expresses his desire for his love interest to return to him and the pain he has experienced since her departure. The opening verse, "All I want is nothing more, to hear you knocking at my door, 'Cause if I could see your face once more, I could die a happy man I'm sure," illustrates the depth of his yearning for her return. He believes that her presence is all he needs to attain true happiness, and without it, life seems incomplete.

The singer continues to reflect on the separation, acknowledging the toll it has taken on him with the lines, "When you said your last goodbye, I died a little bit inside, I lay in tears in bed all night, Alone without you by my side." He is despondent and cannot seem to move on from the relationship. He questions why she left, expressing his confusion and hurt with the lines, "But if you loved me, why'd you leave me? Take my body, take my body." The repetition emphasizes the weight of his words.

The chorus of the song highlights the singer's search for love, "All I want is, and all I need is, to find somebody. I'll find somebody like you." Despite his sadness, he remains determined to find love again, expressing hope for the future.

Line by Line Meaning

All I want is nothing more
I don't require anything else

To hear you knocking at my door
I want to hear your physical presence through a knock on the door

‘Cause if I could see your face once more
Witnessing your visage would bring true happiness

I could die a happy man I'm sure
I am confident I would have reached a state of contentment

When you said your last goodbye
Your farewell caused me profound sadness

I died a little bit inside
I experienced emotional pain and turmoil

I lay in tears in bed all night
I cried myself to sleep in bed during the night

Alone without you by my side
I am without your presence and company

But if you loved me
Assuming you truly loved me

Why'd you leave me?
What compelled you to depart from me?

Take my body
You could have taken me with you