Jazz legend and Crusaders co-founder Joe Sample, renowned for his diverse musical talent as a pianist and songwriter who pushed the boundaries of his genre, died Friday from lung cancer. He was 75.
In addition to performing in his own right and with The Crusaders, Sample has worked with the likes of B.B. King, Miles Davis, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Albert King, Buddy Rich, Ringo Starr, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Quincy Jones, The Beach Boys, Bill Withers, Joan Baez, Rod Stewart, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Al Jarreau, Bobby Womack and more.
A Houston native, Sample rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the Los Angeles-based band The Jazz Crusaders, which he co-founded in Texas. The Jazz Crusaders’ debut album, the hard-bop-styled “Freedom Sound,” was released in 1961.
In 1970 the group became The Crusaders, a reflection of the fact that its music had gradually come to fuse elements of funk, blues, gospel, rock, Latin and more. In the mid-1970s, as The Crusaders grew popular with rock fans, it became the first all-instrumental band to tour as an opening act for the Rolling Stones. The Crusaders biggest hit, “Street Life,” which featured guest singer Crawford, was co-written by Sample. He also wrote the band’s 1972 staple, “Put It Where You Want It,” which was covered the following year by the Average White Band.
