The Golden Age of Soul Music is largely celebrated for the artists who changed the music landscape, but so much of what made that period special was the incredible songwriting that was the underpinning of those hits. And Sam Dees was the quiet author of so many of those great pieces.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Dees emerged as a gifted singer, songwriter and producer, recording early sides for labels including SSS International and Chess before delivering his deeply admired 1975 Atlantic album The Show Must Go On.
Dees’ greatest impact may have come from behind the scenes. He possessed a pen that could deliver upbeat jams and midtempo gems, but he was at his best penning aching love songs, perhaps best demonstrated on the trio of ballads he wrote for Tavares 1979 Madam Butterfly album, “Let Me Heal The Bruises, “My Love Calls,” and “Games Games.”
But Dees became much in-demand because he could write flat out hits, including Larry Graham’s “One in a Million You,” Atlantic Starr’s “Am I Dreaming” and “Send for Me,” Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Save the Overtime (For Me),” George Benson and Aretha Franklin’s “Love All the Hurt Away,” Whitney Houston’s “Lover for Life,” and “Just the Lonely Talking Again,” recorded by both The Manhattans and Houston.
Even though Dees has never been a household name among soul music fans, for artists he has long been considered a “songwriter’s songwriter” who helped usher in a period of soul music greatness.
