Libby Baker Sweiger

Musical Talent Extraordinaire: Author Sam Wesst

“Music is a total constant. That’s why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song says the same, just like that moment.”
― Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

This quote reminds me of the music of Sam Wesst. He is a newly discovered talent. His first album should be released this fall, hopefully around the first of November. I talked to him yesterday about the experience of recording it. It’s titled, “A Lifetime of Lessons”. Like the quote, Sam’s music takes you back to deep feelings with his ballads, visceral experiences with his lyrics and storytelling, soulful renditions of life’s lessons, experiences deeply felt. This album he says is bluesy, and includes moving ballads that may make you tear up like the one “Ocean Blue” which is dedicated to his wife’s father now passed. Add in some country rock and it sounds great to me! I can hardly wait to hear it. I have heard a couple of the songs. I love “Six O’Clock In The Morning” a blues rendition and “Cotton Jenny” a wonderful ballad based on a true love story told to Sam when he was biking (we’re talking Harley’s here) in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It’s very moving like all of Sam’s music, delivered in a smooth, deep gravelly, yet very appealing voice, accompanied by his guitar, so at home in his hands.

He is a new author as well, having published his first book last year, “Wounded Warriors” with Tate Publishing. You can read more about that on his website. I’ll cover that more in another post. Sam is a prolific writer and is working on a couple of other books now. Today I’d like to talk about his music.

When last Sam and I spoke he told me songs are coming out of him at the rate of about 3-5 per day! They aren’t all “keepers” ~ but many of them are!
While as I said his first album is being produced by Tate Music and should be out around the first of November, he is already hard at work on his second!

The amazing this about his first album “A Lifetime of Lessons” was that he recorded it in the Studio in one hour and a half! Only three glitches had to be corrected! Tate Recording and Publishing had never experienced this before with any artist. A quality crew assembled ~ including musicians who record with successful artists in the industry ~ in their studio in Mustang, Oklahoma. Nothing about Sam says novice. He picked eight songs for the album and Tate took all eight. He planned out how he wanted each song to sound and which type of musician should come in when, they emailed his suggestions around and when it came to recording, everything went like clockwork.

Because it did, they had an extra day so they shot a Music Video!

Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Enjoy this first cut of Sam West singing Shovelin Coal, from his very first of many Albums to come! “A Lifetime of Lessons”

Coal Proof 1