Before "American Idol" (and its various knock-offs) there was a little show called "Star Search" that launched many careers. Unfortunately the show's first male vocalist winner, the flamboyantly attired (presumably with an equally flamboyant personality) Sam Harris, found only moderate success in the music industry after becoming a TV sensation with his soulful rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
Not to say Harris is a complete unknown -- in addition to his recording career, he's starred on Broadway (he can be heard on one of the "Grease" cast albums), he had recurring scene-stealing roles on the sitcoms "The Class" and "Rules of Engagement" and he co-created the beloved, corny '80s WTBS sitcom "Down to Earth" and wrote all of the first season's episodes as well as the show's indelible theme song. Seriously, anyone who ever watched the show still has this damned catchy theme song bouncing around somewhere in the recesses of their mind:
After winning "Star Search," Harris released a self-titled album in '84, which spawned the minor MTV and radio hit "Sugar Don't Bite." The album sold well, as did his 1986 follow-up "Sam-I-Am" (I guess he must like Green Eggs and Ham...) but sadly, both albums are now long out of print and tend to fetch utterly ridiculous prices online. So...
First up is his self-titled album, ripped and remastered by yours truly from the cassette. Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the LP, which has a lyric sheet and a couple nice pics on the sleeve -- including a more detailed look at that outrageous outfit he's wearing on the cover. And it's driving me crazy that I can't find it cuz that has to be the gaudiest, gayest, most '80siest outfit ever (the records are plastic and go all the way down his left leg)... meaning the photo from the sleeve would look great on my blog.
01. Out of Control
02. Sugar Don't Bite
03. I've Heard It All Before
04. Hearts on Fire
05. I Will Not Wait for You
06. Pretender
07. Don't Look in My Eyes
08. You Keep Me Hangin' On
09. Inside of Me
10. Over the Rainbow
Moving right along, here's "Sam-I-Am." This isn't my rip -- I found it on the net and presume by the quality it's ripped from CD. Thanks to whomever ripped and originally shared it!
Sam Harris
Sam-I-Am
01. I'd Do It Again
02. Forever For You
03. Heart Of The Machine
04. The Rescue
05. Suffer The Innocent
06. Ba-Doom Ba-Doom
07. Don't Want To Give Up On Love
08. In Your Eyes
09. Always-The Bells-I Need You
BONUS TRACKS:
10. I'd Do It All Again (Foot Mix)
11. I'd Do It All Again (Head Mix)
Not to say Harris is a complete unknown -- in addition to his recording career, he's starred on Broadway (he can be heard on one of the "Grease" cast albums), he had recurring scene-stealing roles on the sitcoms "The Class" and "Rules of Engagement" and he co-created the beloved, corny '80s WTBS sitcom "Down to Earth" and wrote all of the first season's episodes as well as the show's indelible theme song. Seriously, anyone who ever watched the show still has this damned catchy theme song bouncing around somewhere in the recesses of their mind:
After winning "Star Search," Harris released a self-titled album in '84, which spawned the minor MTV and radio hit "Sugar Don't Bite." The album sold well, as did his 1986 follow-up "Sam-I-Am" (I guess he must like Green Eggs and Ham...) but sadly, both albums are now long out of print and tend to fetch utterly ridiculous prices online. So...
First up is his self-titled album, ripped and remastered by yours truly from the cassette. Unfortunately, I can't find my copy of the LP, which has a lyric sheet and a couple nice pics on the sleeve -- including a more detailed look at that outrageous outfit he's wearing on the cover. And it's driving me crazy that I can't find it cuz that has to be the gaudiest, gayest, most '80siest outfit ever (the records are plastic and go all the way down his left leg)... meaning the photo from the sleeve would look great on my blog.
Sam Harris
(Self-titled)
(Self-titled)
01. Out of Control
02. Sugar Don't Bite
03. I've Heard It All Before
04. Hearts on Fire
05. I Will Not Wait for You
06. Pretender
07. Don't Look in My Eyes
08. You Keep Me Hangin' On
09. Inside of Me
10. Over the Rainbow
Moving right along, here's "Sam-I-Am." This isn't my rip -- I found it on the net and presume by the quality it's ripped from CD. Thanks to whomever ripped and originally shared it!
Sam Harris Sam-I-Am
01. I'd Do It Again
02. Forever For You
03. Heart Of The Machine
04. The Rescue
05. Suffer The Innocent
06. Ba-Doom Ba-Doom
07. Don't Want To Give Up On Love
08. In Your Eyes
09. Always-The Bells-I Need You
BONUS TRACKS:
10. I'd Do It All Again (Foot Mix)
11. I'd Do It All Again (Head Mix)
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
Mediafire, MultiUpload, MegaUpload, Rapidshare
Harris is still recording -- his 2008 album "Free," features the song "Change Is on the Way," which was used for Barack Obama's campaign, and this year he released the gay rights anthem "My Reclamation" -- but it's really a shame he's not more well known. The dude's got an incredible voice (and he was riotously funny on the too-short-lived "The Class" too!). More info can be found on his official site, and the rest of his albums are still in print and available on amazon, CD Baby, itunes and various other sites.
_________________________
_________________________
Mediafire, MultiUpload, MegaUpload, Rapidshare
Harris is still recording -- his 2008 album "Free," features the song "Change Is on the Way," which was used for Barack Obama's campaign, and this year he released the gay rights anthem "My Reclamation" -- but it's really a shame he's not more well known. The dude's got an incredible voice (and he was riotously funny on the too-short-lived "The Class" too!). More info can be found on his official site, and the rest of his albums are still in print and available on amazon, CD Baby, itunes and various other sites.
_________________________
2 comments:
I absolutely love your blog!
Check mine out, I think you might like it!
Please never stop putting this stuff up here because it really does make my day.
x
holy crap! I'm havin' flashbacks! Thanks for posting these. I used to love Sam back in the day. I noticed there seems to be a song missing from SAM I AM... I recall an a capella about being cold and dark in the night. "LET ME LAY MY HEAD ON YOUR WEARY ARM AND IF YOU GET TIRED I'LL CARRY YOU HOME" those are the only lyrics I remember, but I thought it was such a beautiful adaptation of the poem on which it was based. any clue what I'm talking about or where to find that?
Post a Comment