Sam Neely born 22 August 1948

Sam Neely (August 22, 1948 – July 19, 2006) was an American country and folk music musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and performer.

Singer/songwriter Sam Neely was another talented performer with all the makings of a star, but who never became one. He was born in Cuero, Texas and began playing guitar at age ten, and made his professional debut within a year. He moved to Corpus Christi with his family and at age 15 began playing in local bands.

In 1966, while playing with an area rock band called Buckle, Neely entered his first recording studio. In 1968, he was appearing on the Merv Griffin show when he met a movie producer looking for a composer to score his newest film, Tilt. The movie didn't come out until 1978, but it did feature Neely's song "Long Road to Texas."

                                 

                           

Sam has written and performed numerous hit songs, including; "Rosalie", "You Can Have Her", "I Fought The Law", "Loving you just crossed my mind", "Long road to Texas", "Jesse California", "O'Molly B", "Get down on your Knee's and pray", and many, many more. He also has written title songs for two movies, "Bonnies Kids" and "Tilt", starring Brooke Shields. Along with the movies, Sam had the honor to sing the final song of the final episode for television's M*A*S*H series, "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen". The song was entitled, "The Party's Over (Farewell To M*A*S*H)".

In 1974 he found success on the pop and country charts with "You Can Have Her," which peaked around the middle of both lists. Neely had a couple more minor hits during the 1970s, but never fared much better. In 1978, he returned to Corpus Christi, where he became the house act at an area club, the Electric Eel. Eventually Neely opened his own nightclub, Neely’s, where he was spotted by MCA's Roger Ramsey.

He signed to the label in 1983 and appeared on the charts three more times with tunes such as "You Can Never Go Back." His songs have reached 13 times or better in Billboard magazine's Top 40 as a recording artist/song writer with record sales worldwide. He appeared on "American Bandstand," "Midnight Special," "Nashville Now" and other shows and shared the stage with Juice Newton and The Guess Who.

Neely collapsed and died of natural causes while mowing his lawn during the evening at his home on Padre Island. on July 19, 2006. He was 58.   (Info various inc AMG & Artists Direct)