Rest in peace Los Angeles-born `90s soul singer, SAM SALTER (46) Died August 27, 2021
In the late `90s during LaFace’s third wave of male solo artists – following Usher, The Tony Rich Project, Donell Jones, etc. – the company dropped an ill-fated young brother into the mix named Sam Salter.
His debut album, It’s On Tonight (LaFace/Arista – 1997), contained three singles: the sexy “After 12, Before 6” (the one DJs across the country suggested which became his highest charter at #19), “It’s On Tonight” and “There You Are.”
Lost in the shuffle comes to mind as I reflect on when this brother came on deck.
He even had a hand in co-writing some of his material… Promotional copies for a second LaFace CD were released in 2000 entitled The Little Black Book, led by the unfortunately titled single, “Once My Sh…”
The album never saw an official release to the public.
Salter only released a few independent singles after that.Brother Salter’s passing serves to remind me of soooooo many then-hopeful/now-forgotten young artists and groups that walked through the doors of Urban Network Magazine with a deal, a debut album…and a dream. May he rest in peace.
More on Sam Salter
Growing up as the second of seven children, Salter sang gospel music at Faithful Church of God in Christ in Los Angelesand won several local talent shows, with his vocal style that was influenced by Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
In 1997, after his demo tape found its way into the hands of L.A. Reid of LaFace Records, he signed him to the label quickly and Salter began to work on his debut album with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.
He ended up working with Tricky Stewart and Laney Stewart who produced the majority of the album, as well as Tony Rich, Robin Thicke and Gordon Chambers. The set’s first single “After 12, Before 6” was released in early 1997 and became a Top 20 R&B hit, while a remixed version of the song received popular airplay on radio and BET.
His debut album It’s On Tonight was released on September 23, 1997 and garnered positive reviews.
The following year, he appeared on the NFL Jams compilation with the track “Call Me” featuring Tamar Braxton, Scott Galbraith and Nicci Gilbert.
Additionally, a second single from his album, the ballad “There You Are” was released and hit the Top 40 on R&B. Around this time, he continued to work on his songwriting, with songs for 98 Degrees, Aaron Skyy, and Kandi Burruss’ solo debut. His debut yielded one more single, the title track in 1998. source
