Rock Drummer, (Slammin') Sammy Creason

Slamming Sammy
Rock Drummer
(1944 – 1995)

For me, Sammy is one of the all-time great drummers, whether in the studio or at live gigs he always came up with the goods. He worked with a diverse cast of musicians and cut his teeth along with the first generation of Rock'n'Rollers, such as, Joe Lee, Larry Donn, Billy Lee Riley, Bob Tucker, Sonny Burgess and Carl Perkins. He went on to session as a member of the Dixie Flyers for Atlantic with Jerry Jeff Walker, Tony Joe White, The Memphis Horns, Aretha Franklin, Delaney and Bonnie, Carmen McRea, Ronnie Hawkins, Petula Clarke, Donnie Fritts, Dan Penn, Bob Neuwirth, Rita Coolidge and of course Kris Kristofferson.

The recordings from the early seventies demonstrate his mastery as a drummer. He had the pleasure of backing some of the finest songwriters we have ever seen, and his ability to interpret their songs is astonishing. Take Kristofferson live at the Philharmonic, as an example, where the performance is essentially unplugged, Sammy lays into some solid funky beats and yet he remains sensitive to the nuances of the songs. A lesser drummer would have drowned the whole band out in such a venue.

Sammy appeared in a couple of movies along with Kristofferson: A Star is Born and Songwriter, as part of Kris's band, but also in Sam Pekenpah's Convoy, as one of the Jesus Freaks. Below, is one of Sammy's funkier moments with the Memphis horns. There isn't much in the way of video or pics of Sammy, but he's sure left his mark on countless recordings.