Sam Brown, born as Samantha Brown on October 7, 1964 at Stratford in London, is the daughter of rock 'n' roll singer and guitarist Joe Brown and the singer Vicki Brown – a member of the Pink Floyd 'choir' at Knebworth. Sam Brown has organized two solo albums – 'April Moon' and 'Stop' -- with contribution of David Gilmour and another titled ‘Of the Moment’. In addition, as a vocalist, Sam Brown has performed with ‘Small Faces’ as well as ‘Spandau Ballett’.
For Sam Brown, music has been as natural as breathing since she was brought up in one of the most musical families. Since Sam Brown's early days, she has been related with many top musicians who frequented her and among them Small Faces' Steve Marriott and Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour were very regular.
It may be noted that soon before The Beatles split up, her father Joe was an influential guitarist and already had three Top 10 pop hits. On the other hand, Sam’s mother Vicki too was a top supporting vocalist from the early 70s onwards. In addition, Joe Brown owned a studio – The Grange – a nearby. Thus, it is little surprising that with such fired up music in her veins, Sam Brown has been a celebrity even before she recorded her first album.
Early Days
According to Sam Brown, the hubbub notwithstanding, she was a quiet child who preferred remaining confined to her room listening to Rickie Lee Jones or Elkie Brooks, playing the piano or writing her personal diary. However, she was always captivated by lyrics and at the age of 14, Sam Brown she wrote her first song and put it to tune. She called it ‘Window People’.
In her initial days, Sam Brown did not harbor any career plans, but just whiled her time with her talent and celebrity background. In 1977, Sam Brown first appeared as a vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and also sang in the Small Faces’ album ‘In the Shade’. At the age of 17, Sam Brown felt the need for some independence in her life and hence shifted to London. She is reported to have said that she took the decision as she did not want her family to have any role in her music.
Career
Sam Brown is distinguished for her unfashionably passionate vocal style as well as her aptitude to easily go beyond the different musical styles. So far, Sam’s most popular song has been ‘Stop!’, which was released in 1988 as a single. Later, in the same year, Sam Brown released an album, including singles ‘Walking Back to Me’ and ‘This Feeling’, by the same title. Two years later, Sam released her second album ‘April Moon’ – comprising two singles ‘With a Little Love’ and ‘Kissing Gate’ – in 1990. The album had three more singles – ‘Mindworks’, ‘As One’ and ‘One in Your Life’.
Incidentally, Sam Brown first received recognition in the United States when she contributed as a supporting vocalist for Pink Floyd.
The third album released by Sam Brown was titled ’43 Minutes’. ’43 Minutes’ displayed a negative approach as the songs in the album were written and composed when Sam’s mother Vicky was dying due to cancer. The album comprised songs titled ‘Letting Go’, ‘Fear of Life’ and ‘Into the Night’. This was also a turning point in Sam’s music as she released the album under her own label ‘Pod Music’, when renowned label A&M refused to release ’43 Minutes’ without their suggested changes.
Sam released a duet with Fish titled ‘Just Good Friends’ in 1995, but if failed to make much impact. Two years later, she released ‘Box’ through Demon Records and the tracks in this album – “Embrace the Darkness", "Whisper" and "I Forgive You" – reflected her maturity both as a lyricist and musician. Again in 2000, Sam Brown released another album titled ‘ReBoot’. Sam released a solo album ‘Of the Moment’ in 2007 was back on the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart in October 2007 with "Valentine Moon".
Personal Life
Sam Brown is married to producer Robin Evans. She is a mother of two children Vicki born in September 1993 and Mohan in June 1995. Currently, the family lives in a small Scottish village and their hour is full of musicians as it has always been.
Some of her albums include:
- 1988 - "Stop!"
- 1990 - "April Moon"
- 1992 - "43 Minutes"
- 1997 - "Box"
- 2000 - "Reboot"
- 2001 - "Small World Big Band"
- 2003 - "Homespun"
- 2005 - "Ukulele and Voice", "Effortless Cool" and "Swinging the Blues Dancing the Ska"
- 2006 - "The Very Best of Sam Brown" and "Moving Out to the Country"
- 2007 - "Of The Moment" and "Best Of Friends"
- 2008 - "Short Stories From East Yorkshire"