Sam Harris

All photos:  Alan Mercer

Long before the current crop of singers from 'American Idol' Sam Harris got his start as the grand champion of 'Star Search' in its premiere season. His first single, "Sugar Don't Bite," was a Top 40 hit in 1984. He is a recording artist with nine studio albums to his credit and he has toured extensively in concert and has played to sold-out audiences at major venues including New York's Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles' Universal Amphitheater and London's West End. He has appeared with the Boston Pops Symphony Orchestra, at the White House and has sung on a variety of television specials and live productions.

On Broadway, he received a Drama Desk nomination for his role in the Tommy Tune-directed revival of 'Grease,' and a Drama League Award as well as Tony, Outer Critic's Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations for his work in Cy Coleman's Tony nominated musical 'The Life.' He's also appeared on Broadway in Mel Brooks' Tony Award winning musical 'The Producers,' in the national tour of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,' and in the musicals 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' 'Cabaret,' 'Hair,' and 'Pippin.'

Sam co-created the television series 'Down to Earth' in 1984, which ran for 4 years and 104 episodes. He was a series regular on 'The Class' in 2006.

I was very excited to work with Sam. I have been following his career from the very beginning. He has a classic 'show business' quality which means he has real talent! What a joy to be able to photograph him. He kept me in stiches with his witty comments through out the shoot. Jackie Stander helped us get the photos just right. After I set the camera down I told Sam about the first time we met a few years ago.

AM: Sam, I have to tell you that the first time we met was at the world premiere of Motown's 'The Last Dragon.'

SH: Really!?! I sang a song in that movie called 'You're A Dragon.' It was a dreadful song and a terrible film as I recall. (We are laughing)

AM: I remember Diana Ross was there.

SH: And Berry Gordy...the great thing about that project for me was getting to hang out with Berry Gordy all the time. Of course I was on Motown. I haven't thought of this in a hundred years.

AM: Motown wasn't the first label I would have thought you would land.

SH: After 'Star Search' there were a lot of offers from a lot of companies. I had such an affection and affinity for Motown and the concept of being the great white hope on this historical label meant so much to me. I met with everybody and actually turned down Clive Davis to go be on Motown. (more laughter)

AM: But you're happy you went with Motown right?

SH: Motown was great for me. We sold a gazillion records. Also they were going through so many changes at the time. It was not a great place as far as marketing. The idea of it was really good but they had their business problems. I worked with some great people and I still know and work with some of them today.

AM: Has the 'Star Search' label faded by now?

SH: It hasn't. I have changed my perspective of it. There was a period of life when I was so tired of hearing about it because I'd been on Broadway and sold millions of records and toured the world.

AM: And yet 'Star Search' rules! How did you change your point of view?

SH: Not a day in my life goes by without someone saying something about it. Then I recognized that for something to have that kind of emotional impact on people was something that I needed to be grateful for and embrace rather than reject or think that it was limiting. The truth is it was a huge experience for me and launched a lot of things for me. It has a place in people's hearts. It really meant something.

AM: Aren't you the only well known singer that came from that show?

SH: Rosie O'Donnell and Brad Garrett were on it. There are a lot of comedians who have done really well.

AM: But you are the singer that came out of it, why?

SH: I think it was the fact that we were so indelibly connected. The producers told me there wouldn't have been a second season or a tenth season without me. The success of a show is the perfect idea at the perfect time with the perfect components. It was the right time for me and the culture. It did become iconic in that way. The numbers we got back then were 25 to 30 million people a week.

AM: You're right, it is emotional. I remember it like it was yesterday. What quality do you think you have that lead to your success?

SH: The quality that I know that I have, is honesty, so when I'm singing, it's real. Yes I can sing, but my favorite singers are not necessarily the ones who can "SING!" They are people who touch me by telling a story.

AM: Can you name one or two singers you like?

SH: Sure, Tom Waites, Randy Newman, Billie Holiday, you know I love great singers too. I grew up listening to Jackie Wilson and Aretha Franklin. Those are the people who influenced my style along with musical theater. The people who I would sit and listen to the whole record were artists like Rickie Lee Jones, who is a great singer, but not Aretha or Patti LaBelle.

AM: You used to be compared to Patti LaBelle. How did that feel?

SH: Fantastic! We've sung together a couple of times. She is a force!

AM: Well you are too.

SH: Thank you.

AM: You have that exact same ability.

SH: She was definitely an influence with her arrangements, style and approach. Meanwhile so were the musical theater people. I saw Liza Minnelli, who is one of my best friends in the world, she is like my sister, when I was eleven years old. That was my first concert. Then I saw Sammy Davis Jr. that same year in the same venue.

AM: Did they influence you?

SH: I already knew what I loved and what I wanted to do, but when I saw them I knew that was show business, that was it! Later Liza and I became best friends, and I worked with Sammy. I got to be peers with these people who influenced me so deeply. That's the greatest thing about this business for me.

AM: You've worked in many fields of entertainment already.

SH: For the record I've done Broadway, Carnegie Hall, and a few television series.

AM: I did want to ask you about performing in 'Hair?'

SH: 'Hair' was such a superb production, but there was one circumstance. Usually the nude scene is four or five seconds of a dimly lit, smoke infused stage. Not in our production. No, no in our production, and it's during my song, I was naked for two minutes, fully lit in a spotlight.

AM: How did you do that?

SH: Horrifying, horrifying, meanwhile Steven Weber is off stage fluffing so he can make his big entrance, and I do mean big! It was really terrifying and then you just have to get over it. Actually the way the director did it in rehearsal was to say today's the day everyone just take off your clothes. So if you can take off your clothes in a small room with twenty people in a fluorescent lit room, doing it on a beautifully lit stage is a piece of cake. Frankly I wish I could always be naked!

AM: How long did you live in Oklahoma?

SH: I left when I was fifteen.

AM: I was born in Oklahoma but never lived there. I did live in Dallas, TX however.

SH: That was a lateral move!

AM: You are going to be performing in Dallas soon!

SH: I am indeed.

AM: They love you there!

SH: I am going to sing at a church with an orchestra. I'm very excited about that! You know Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana are fantastic places to grow up in. There is a simplicity that is so nice. I live in a fabulous neighborhood in Los Angeles with a two year old child, but the days of going out for the afternoon are over. You used to go out an play and the neighbors watched over everybody's kids and you showed up for dinner. That doesn't happen anymore.

AM: What is it like being a Dad? Is it what you wanted and what you thought it would be?

SH: It's beyond my imagination and beyond what I thought was my capacity to love. It is everything. It's hard to describe. I always say, "How much does Daddy love Cooper?" and he says, "More than everything." It's true, being a Dad is the great leveler and priority maker. Everything else in my life is now secondary and pales by comparison. I have a great life and I've had a great life. It keeps getting richer.

To learn more about Sam Harris visit his web site http://www.samharris.com/