Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard (January 7, 1925 – September 20, 1988) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey, area in the 1940s.
Sam Woodyard

Dontworry at German Wikipedia · Own work (Original text: Scan von eigener Aufnahme) · CC BY-SA 2.0 de
- Name
- Sam Woodyard
- Born
- 7 January 1925
- Birthplace
- Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
- Died
- 20 September 1988
- Place of death
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- Musician
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- jazz
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Sam Woodyard (January 7, 1925 – September 20, 1988) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey, area in the 1940s.
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Sam Woodyard (1925–1988) was an American jazz musician and musician. Born in Elizabeth, the jazz musician died in Paris.
Genres include jazz. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
museum · 90f9db31-0d48-43d2-8112-04850fbe5bbd · wikidata · Q358915 · wikipedia · Sam Woodyard
In this article
Biography
Biography
He performed with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner. In 1955, he joined Duke Ellington's orchestra and remained until 1966. After his time with Ellington, Woodyard worked with Ella Fitzgerald, then moved to Los Angeles. In the 1970s, he played less due to health problems, but he recorded with Buddy Rich, and toured with Claude Bolling. In 1983, he belonged to a band with Teddy Wilson, Buddy Tate, and Slam Stewart. His last recording was on Steve Lacy's 1988 album, The Door. He died of cancer in Paris at the age of 63.

Sam Woodyard 06.02.65 JHH
Dontworry at German Wikipedia · Own work (Original text: Scan von eigener Aufnahme)
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Sam Woodyard • Born — 7 January 1925 • Birthplace — Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. • Died — 20 September 1988 • Place of death — Paris, France • Genre — Jazz • Occupation — Musician • Instrument — Drums
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1925
Sam Woodyard was born in 1925 at Elizabeth.
1988
Sam Woodyard died at Paris.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Elizabeth.
Birth place
Paris.
Death place
Discography
With Cat Anderson • Plays at 4 a.m. (Columbia, 1958) • Ellingtonia (Wynne, 1959) • A Chat with Cat Anderson (Columbia, 1963) With Duke Ellington • At Newport (Columbia, 1956) • Duke Ellington Presents... (Bethlehem, 1956) • A Drum Is a Woman (Columbia, 1957) • Ellington at Newport (Columbia, 1957) • Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia, 1957) • The Cosmic Scene (Columbia, 1958) • Newport 1958 (Columbia, 1958) • Ellington Indigos (Columbia, 1958) • Black, Brown and Beige (Columbia, 1958) • Ellington Jazz Party (Columbia, 1959) • Festival Session (Columbia, 1959) • Solitude (Philips, 1960) • The Nutcracker Suite (Columbia, 1960) • Piano in the Background (Columbia, 1960) • Piano in the Foreground (Columbia, 1963) • The Symphonic Ellington (Reprise, 1963) • Afro-Bossa (Reprise, 1963) • Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse!, 1963) • Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (Impulse!, 1963) • Duke Ellington & Django Reinhardt (Amiga, 1963) • Ellington '65 (Reprise, 1964) • The Popular Duke Ellington (RCA Victor 1966) • Duke Ellington at the Cote d'Azur (Verve, 1967) • "...And His Mother Called Him Bill" (RCA, 1968) • Second Sacred Concert (Fantasy, 1968) • Francis A. & Edward K. (Reprise, 1968) • First Time! The Count Meets the Duke (Columbia, 1971) • The Great Paris Concert (Atlantic, 1973) • Yale Concert (Fantasy, 1973) • Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II (Columbia, 1973) • The Pianist (Fantasy, 1974) • The Duke Lives On (Midi, 1974) • Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session (Atlantic, 1976) • All Star Road Band (Doctor Jazz, 1983) • All Star Road Band Volume 2 (Doctor Jazz, 1985) • Hot Summer Dance (Red Baron, 1991) With Johnny Hodges • Ellingtonia '56 (Norgran, 1956) • Duke's in Bed (Verve, 1956) • The Big Sound (Verve, 1957) • Blues-a-Plenty (Verve, 1958) • Not So Dukish (Verve, 1958) • Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra (Verve, 1962) • Swing's Our Thing with Earl Hines (Verve, 1968) • Ellingtonia! (Onyx, 1974) • At the Sportpalast Berlin (Pablo, 1978) With others • Alice Babs, Serenade to Sweden (Telestar, 1966) • Harry Carney, Rock Me Gently (Metronome, 1961) • Rosemary Clooney, Blue Rose (Columbia, 1956) • Paul Gonsalves, Cookin (Argo, 1958) • Jimmy Hamilton, Clarinet in High Fi (Urania, 1955) • Jimmy Hamilton, Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet (World Record Club, 1963) • Lionel Hampton, Ring Dem Vibes (Blue Star, 1976) • Quincy Jones, The Birth of a Band! (Mercury, 1959) • Brooks Kerr & Paul Quinichette, Prevue (Famous Door, 1974) • Buddy Rich, The Roar of '74 (Groove Merchant, 1974) • Joya Sherrill, Joya Sherrill Sings Duke (20th Century Fox, 1965) • Billy Strayhorn, Live! (Roulette, 1969) • Clark Terry, Duke with a Difference (Riverside, 1957) • Clark Terry, Out on a Limb with Clark Terry (Argo, 1957) • Clark Terry, Cruising (Milestone, 1975) • Norris Turney, I Let a Song... (Black and Blue, 1978) • Jimmy Woode, The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode (Argo, 1958)
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q358915: Sam Woodyard
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Sam Woodyard”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for Sam Woodyard
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
scholarly publication
- Woodyard, Sam (1925-1988), jazz drummer, American National Biography Online, 2000
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2000
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Colin Larkin. The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Guinness Publishing. 438/9. 1992. 0-85112-580-8.
- 2.Sam Woodyard Dies; Jazz Drummer Was 63. Nytimes.com. 23 September 1988.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
MusicBrainz artist record for Sam WoodyardMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Died at
1- ParisPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 20 August 2026.
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