Samuel T. Lawmaster (July 18, 1930 – March 8, 2013), known by his stage name Sammy Masters, was an American rockabilly musician. He is perhaps best known for his 1960 hit, "Rockin' Red Wing".
Born Samuel T. Lawmaster in Sasakwa, Oklahoma, United States, Masters was the son of an oil field worker. He showed skill in music from an early age and was something of a prodigy. At age 12, he debuted on the radio station KTUL in Tulsa with Bob Wills. When he was 16, his family moved to California, and Masters began playing in country groups in the Los Angeles area alongside Spade Cooley and Ole Rasmussen. Lawmaster recorded his first solo single, "Lost Little Nickel in the Big Juke Box" on Cormac Records in 1950, and followed it with "Crazy River". After these were released Masters served in the Korean War in the Army, where he often performed for his fellow soldiers.
In 1954, he returned to California and signed with 4-Star Publishing as a songwriter and demo tape recorder. Patsy Cline recorded his "Turn the Cards Slowly" for a minor hit. Interested in furthering his chances at a successful career in rockabilly, Masters recorded "Pink Cadillac" and "Whop-T-Bop" with guitarist Jimmy Bryant and released them on 4-Star in 1956, but neither sold well. Follow-ups "Angel" and "Jodie" were no more successful, even after Masters's touring schedule and television appearances on The Jack Benny Show and Town Hall Party. His contract with 4-Star ended in 1957, and he wrote for American Music for a few years.
“Rockin' Red Wing" was issued on Warner Bros. Records in September 1959 before signing with Lode Records in 1960. Lode re-issued "Rockin' Red Wing" in January that year, which became a regional hit in Los Angeles and eventually reached No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. It gave Masters his only appearance in the UK Singles Chart when it peaked at No. 36 in June 1960. His next single, "Golden Slippers", was released nationally by Dot Records, but it was not a success, and neither was "Pierre the Poodle", his last release before losing his recording contract.
He became friends with Willie Nelson in 1961, and his song "Who Can I Count On?" became the B-side to Nelson's "Crazy", a multi-platinum smash for Patsy Cline. In the wake of "Crazy"'s success, singers such as Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton covered "Who Can I Count On?". That same year Masters founded his own label, Galahad Records.
While largely a vehicle for other acts, Gallahad was also home to his 1964 gospel LP, May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You, as well as little-heard singles like "Stick Around Joe," "All Alone in San Antone," and "A Big Man Cried." For a time, he and Johnny Horton co-hosted a 15-minute weekly television series on L.A. station KCOP, and during the late '60s and 1970s and increasingly found work in TV production in the following decades.At one point, he was helming six weekly series at the same time, including Jukebox Saturday Night and Country Music Time.
Sammy Masters died peacefully in his sleep on March 8, 2013, aged 82.
