Sam Neely

He made an appearance on the Merv Griffin Show in 1968 and was asked to write a song for the film, Tilt; though the movie was not released until 1978, it did include Neely's track, "Long Road to Texas". Neely scored a string of minor hits in the 1970s on the country and pop charts and released a few albums which saw sales success. In 1978, he moved back to Corpus Christi and became the house musician for the Electric Eel. In 1983, he made a comeback on MCA Records. On July 19, 2006, Neely collapsed and died while mowing his lawn at his home in Corpus Christi. He was 57. A funeral mass was held at St. Patrick Catholic parish in Corpus Christi on July 23, 2006.

• Name — Sam Neely • Born — 22 August 1948 • Birthplace — Cuero, Texas, U.S. • Died — 19 July 2006 • Place of death — Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. • Genre — Country, folk • Occupation — Musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, performer • Instrument — Guitar, vocals • Years Active — 1958-1984 • Label — A&M, Astro, Capitol, Elektra, MCA, Taliesyn • Associated Acts — The Buckle

• Year — Album — Chart Positions • US • 1971 — Long Road to Texas — — • 1972 — Loving You Just Crossed My Mind — 147 • 1973 — Two — 175 • 1974 — Down Home — 202 • 1981 — Two of a Kind — — • 2000 — Son of the South — — • 2002 — Sam Neely — —

• Year — Song — Peak chart positions • US Country — US • 1972 — "Loving You Just Crossed My Mind" — — — 29 • 1973 — "Rosalie" — — — 43 • 1974 — "Sadie Take a Lover" — — — 103 • "You Can Have Her" — 49 — 34 • 1975 — "Sanctuary (promo)" — — — — • 1975 — "I Fought the Law" — 61 — 54 • 1977 — "Sail Away" — 98 — 84 • 1983 — "The Party's Over (Everybody's Gone)" — 78 — — • "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back" — 77 — — • 1984 — "Old Photographs" — 81 — —