Sampson was born in 1971 to Francis Xavier Sampson (1946–2007) and Florence Ley. Sampson's only musical training as a child were piano lessons he took from his mother. He remembers being surrounded by fiddlers, who were very common in Cape Breton. Initially, he had no interest in fiddle music, but only wanted to be in a rock'n'roll band.[5] He taught himself to play guitar and played in school bands in both junior high and high school, playing material from acts such as
AC/DC and
Black Sabbath.[6]
Sampson attended
Riverview Rural High School in the late 1980s.[7] His first band was called Ricochet; he played with them at age 17, straight out of high school, going on a six-month tour of the Maritimes.[6] After that, in the early 1990s, he was invited to join the Nova Scotia band Realworld with brothers Jamie and Matthew Foulds.[8] The group released one CD, Dig;[8] three singles from the album, all co-written by Sampson, were Top 10 hits in Canada in 1994. But the band was growing apart, and broke up later that year.[6]
Career
After Realworld disbanded, Sampson found himself increasingly interested in exploring the traditional Celtic music for which Cape Breton is well known. Gigging with local musicians led him to a place in
Ashley MacIsaac's band just as MacIsaac was seeking a fusion of traditional Celtic music with contemporary rock'n'roll.[6] Sampson co-wrote two songs on MacIsaac's successful 1996 debut album, Hi™ How Are You Today?.[9]
Around this same time, Sampson became a part of
Rita MacNeil's band, both on the road and on her popular weekly
CBC show Rita and Friends.[5] He also toured with the Nova Scotia-based family music group
The Rankin Family.[6]
Sampson recorded his first solo album in 1998, entitled Stones, which was recorded at
Lakewind Sound Studios in
Point Aconi, Nova Scotia—a recording studio Sampson and partner
Fred Lavery built together in 1996.[10] The album was nominated for a
Juno Award;[1] the single, "Sorry," won three East Coast Music Awards.[11]
In the late 1990s, Sampson also began to concentrate more on his songwriting, with the aim of getting other musicians to record his songs. Over time he began to see how challenging this was going to be from his Cape Breton hometown. In 2005, he moved with his wife and baby to Nashville, even though knew very little about country music at that point.[12]
Within a year, Sampson had co-written "
Jesus, Take the Wheel", former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood had recorded it, and the song was number one on the Billboard country music chart for six weeks. Sampson has said that the song was inspired by the death of an acquaintance in a car accident on a highway in Nova Scotia two years earlier.[12] "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was written with
Brett James and
Hillary Lindsey.[13]
Sampson has also recorded three more solo albums since his 1998 debut. His second CD, Sunburn (2004), was largely written in partnership with
Troy Verges and Blair Daly. Sampson produced the CD and played the majority of the instruments on the album, including guitars, bass, drums and piano. The album was recorded at Lakewind Sound Studios, as well as in studios in
Toronto and Nashville. For The Few And Far Between was released in 2008; it was nominated for a 2009 Juno Award and was the recipient of two East Coast Music Awards.[14]Almost Beautiful came out in 2011, and is the first solo album of his move away from the rootsy pop music of his previous releases and towards the kind of country music he has been writing for others for many years.[15]
Sampson lives in Nashville with his wife, Helen Musial, and their daughter Amelie.[16] He still returns to Cape Breton for a couple of months every summer.[15]
In 2010, the Gordie Sampson Songcamp was conceived by Sampson as a way to encourage and develop young songwriters from across Nova Scotia. Sampson attends the intensive, five-day event every year, often accompanied by special professional guests.[17] In July 2019, Sampson held the 10th Anniversary edition of his Songcamp, hosting 37 songwriters and 10 world-class writer/producer guests. Over 500 songs have been penned at the camp during its ten-year run.[18]
2006 – Outstanding Success Airplay, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" (WON)
2002 – Most Country Airplay "Followed Her Around" (
Jimmy Rankin) (WON)
Canadian Radio Music Awards
2000 – Pop Adult Best Solo Artist (Nomination)
John Lennon Songwriting Contest
2000 – Pop Category Finalist "Sorry"
Benelux International Song & Cultural Festival
Best Entry – Canada
Cape Breton University
2013 – Received a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (honorary degree)
References
^
ab"Gordie Sampson". International Musician Magazine. New York, NY: American Federation of Musicians. March 2010. Archived from
the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^
abcdeMahalik, Dave (October 1, 1998).
"Gordie Sampson: King of Pop Music". whatsgoinon.ca. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia: WGO Media. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^"Lakewind Sound Studios". Nova Scotia Come to Life. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Province of Nova Scotia. Archived from
the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^"Gordie Sampson". iacmusic.com. Independent Artists Company. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^Edwards, Kelley (February 23, 2013).
"Helen Musial – Giving Up on Gluten". Sea and be Scene. Chester, Nova Scotia: Sea and Be Scene.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
Sampson was born in 1971 to Francis Xavier Sampson (1946–2007) and Florence Ley. Sampson's only musical training as a child were piano lessons he took from his mother. He remembers being surrounded by fiddlers, who were very common in Cape Breton. Initially, he had no interest in fiddle music, but only wanted to be in a rock'n'roll band.[5] He taught himself to play guitar and played in school bands in both junior high and high school, playing material from acts such as
AC/DC and
Black Sabbath.[6]
Sampson attended
Riverview Rural High School in the late 1980s.[7] His first band was called Ricochet; he played with them at age 17, straight out of high school, going on a six-month tour of the Maritimes.[6] After that, in the early 1990s, he was invited to join the Nova Scotia band Realworld with brothers Jamie and Matthew Foulds.[8] The group released one CD, Dig;[8] three singles from the album, all co-written by Sampson, were Top 10 hits in Canada in 1994. But the band was growing apart, and broke up later that year.[6]
Career
After Realworld disbanded, Sampson found himself increasingly interested in exploring the traditional Celtic music for which Cape Breton is well known. Gigging with local musicians led him to a place in
Ashley MacIsaac's band just as MacIsaac was seeking a fusion of traditional Celtic music with contemporary rock'n'roll.[6] Sampson co-wrote two songs on MacIsaac's successful 1996 debut album, Hi™ How Are You Today?.[9]
Around this same time, Sampson became a part of
Rita MacNeil's band, both on the road and on her popular weekly
CBC show Rita and Friends.[5] He also toured with the Nova Scotia-based family music group
The Rankin Family.[6]
Sampson recorded his first solo album in 1998, entitled Stones, which was recorded at
Lakewind Sound Studios in
Point Aconi, Nova Scotia—a recording studio Sampson and partner
Fred Lavery built together in 1996.[10] The album was nominated for a
Juno Award;[1] the single, "Sorry," won three East Coast Music Awards.[11]
In the late 1990s, Sampson also began to concentrate more on his songwriting, with the aim of getting other musicians to record his songs. Over time he began to see how challenging this was going to be from his Cape Breton hometown. In 2005, he moved with his wife and baby to Nashville, even though knew very little about country music at that point.[12]
Within a year, Sampson had co-written "
Jesus, Take the Wheel", former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood had recorded it, and the song was number one on the Billboard country music chart for six weeks. Sampson has said that the song was inspired by the death of an acquaintance in a car accident on a highway in Nova Scotia two years earlier.[12] "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was written with
Brett James and
Hillary Lindsey.[13]
Sampson has also recorded three more solo albums since his 1998 debut. His second CD, Sunburn (2004), was largely written in partnership with
Troy Verges and Blair Daly. Sampson produced the CD and played the majority of the instruments on the album, including guitars, bass, drums and piano. The album was recorded at Lakewind Sound Studios, as well as in studios in
Toronto and Nashville. For The Few And Far Between was released in 2008; it was nominated for a 2009 Juno Award and was the recipient of two East Coast Music Awards.[14]Almost Beautiful came out in 2011, and is the first solo album of his move away from the rootsy pop music of his previous releases and towards the kind of country music he has been writing for others for many years.[15]
Sampson lives in Nashville with his wife, Helen Musial, and their daughter Amelie.[16] He still returns to Cape Breton for a couple of months every summer.[15]
In 2010, the Gordie Sampson Songcamp was conceived by Sampson as a way to encourage and develop young songwriters from across Nova Scotia. Sampson attends the intensive, five-day event every year, often accompanied by special professional guests.[17] In July 2019, Sampson held the 10th Anniversary edition of his Songcamp, hosting 37 songwriters and 10 world-class writer/producer guests. Over 500 songs have been penned at the camp during its ten-year run.[18]
2006 – Outstanding Success Airplay, "Jesus, Take The Wheel" (WON)
2002 – Most Country Airplay "Followed Her Around" (
Jimmy Rankin) (WON)
Canadian Radio Music Awards
2000 – Pop Adult Best Solo Artist (Nomination)
John Lennon Songwriting Contest
2000 – Pop Category Finalist "Sorry"
Benelux International Song & Cultural Festival
Best Entry – Canada
Cape Breton University
2013 – Received a Doctor of Letters, honoris causa (honorary degree)
References
^
ab"Gordie Sampson". International Musician Magazine. New York, NY: American Federation of Musicians. March 2010. Archived from
the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^
abcdeMahalik, Dave (October 1, 1998).
"Gordie Sampson: King of Pop Music". whatsgoinon.ca. Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia: WGO Media. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
^"Lakewind Sound Studios". Nova Scotia Come to Life. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Province of Nova Scotia. Archived from
the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^"Gordie Sampson". iacmusic.com. Independent Artists Company. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^Edwards, Kelley (February 23, 2013).
"Helen Musial – Giving Up on Gluten". Sea and be Scene. Chester, Nova Scotia: Sea and Be Scene.com. Retrieved June 1, 2018.