Gordie Sampson
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| Gordie Sampson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gordon Francis Sampson |
| Born | July 30, 1971 |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, piano, bass, drums, bouzouki, accordion |
| Voice type(s) | silky |
| Years active | 1990-present |
| Label(s) | Maple Music |
| Associated acts | Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Jimmy Rankin, George Canyon, Damhnait Doyle |
| Website | www.gordiesampson.com |
Gordie Sampson (born July 30, 1971) is a Grammy, and Juno award winning singer / songwriter / producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia, Canada.
As a performer he has shared the stage with the likes of Faith Hill, Keith Urban, the Rankin Family, Joel Plaskett, John Allan Cameron, Aselin Debison and Ashley MacIsaac.
As a songwriter he has known success writing songs for Carrie Underwood (Jesus, Take the Wheel), Crush (King for a Day), Jimmy Rankin (Followed Her Around, Leavin' Louisiana) and George Canyon (My Name).
As a producer and sound engineer he has logged studio time with Damhnait Doyle, Natalie MacMaster, The Cottars Bruce Guthro and Buddy MacMaster.
As a musical director for television and live projects he worked on Celtic Electric (CBC TV), the Rankin Family's Christmas special and the Cape Breton Summertime Revue.
Contents |
[edit] Music career
His sound can be described as blues/folk/pop. He got his start as a member of the band Realworld in the early 1990s with brothers Jamie Foulds and Matthew Foulds. The group released one self-titled CD that featured local radio hits "Angels", "Throwin' It All Away" and "We All Need". He was also a member of the house band on Rita MacNeil's weekly CBC hit show Rita & Friends.
Sampson is an accomplished songwriter who, early in his career wrote for artists such as Ashley MacIsaac ("Sleepy Maggie," and Crush ("King For A Day"). He also produced and co-wrote (Damhnait Doyle's Davnet, Natalie MacMaster's In My Hands).
His songs have been recorded by such artists as Faith Hill ("Paris"), Trace Adkins ("Words Get in the Way"), Carolyn Dawn Johnson ("Crybaby"), Aaron Lines ("Seeing Things"), Great Big Sea ("Lucky Me", "Let it Go") and George Canyon ("My Name", "Happy Man").[1]
It was "Jesus, Take the Wheel", co-written with Brett James and Hillary Lindsey in Nashville, that brought him international industry acclaim as a songwriter. That song was recorded by Carrie Underwood and released in 2005. It sat at the top of the charts for six weeks, tying Faith Hill's "Breathe" as a runner-up for longest-running number-one song by a solo female artist. Sampson has commented that the song was inspired by a story told by his aunt and the death of an acquaintance in a car crash on a Nova Scotia highway.[2]
Since the success of "Jesus, Take the Wheel", Sampson has co-written songs with several well known Nashville performers including LeAnn Rimes ("Long Night", "Save Myself") and Bon Jovi(Any Other Day) for that band's 2007 country music album. He also spent time writing with Keith Urban at the Nashville home he shares with wife Nicole Kidman.[3] Though Urban has yet to record any of the songs he wrote with Sampson, Urban has recorded three of Sampson's songs to date.[4]
Sampson has released two CDs as a solo artist. His debut solo album, Stones (1998), was nominated for a Juno Award. He also received an East Coast Music Award for the single "Sorry", also a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
His second CD, Sunburn (2004), came after a brief hiatus and was largely written in partnership with Troy Verges and Blair Daly. Sampson produced the CD and played the majority of the instruments on Sunburn including guitars, bass, drums and piano. The album was recorded in Canada at his own studio (Lakewind Sound Studios, in Point Aconi) on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia as well as in Toronto, Ontario and Nashville, Tenn.
Sampson now divides his time between Nashville and his Cape Breton home, in addition to touring across Canada.
[edit] Personal life
His parents are Frank (September 6, 1946-December 3, 2007) and Flo (Ley) Sampson. His sister Amy Sampson is a former member of the band Ashego.
Gordie and his longtime partner Helen Musial have a young daughter named Amelie.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2006 Grammy Awards (2) - Song of the Year (Nomination), and Best Country Song (Winner), both for "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
- 2006 Juno Awards - Songwriter Of The Year
- 2006 CMA Nomination - Song of the Year for "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
- 2006 Nashville Songwriters Association International Songwriter Achievement Award "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
- 2006 Canadian Country Music Award Songwriter of the Year (2nd year in a row) for "Jesus, Take the Wheel" (Carrie Underwood)
- 2006 CCMA Nomination-Songwriter of the Year " Crybaby" (Carolyn Dawn Johnson)
- 2006 Academy of Country Music Award-Single of the Year - Carrie Underwood - "Jesus, Take the Wheel"
- 2005 Great American Song Contest Award Winner Pop/Contemporary for "Paris"
- 2005 Great American Song Contest Award Winner Pop/Contemporary for "Sunburn"
- 2005 CCMA AWARD Single of the Year & Song of the Year - George Canyon - "My Name"
- 2005 ECMA AWARD Album of the Year Sunburn)
- Songwriter of the Year(Sunburn)
- Single of the Year (Sunburn)
- Male Artist of the Year (Sunburn)
- Pop Recording of the Year (Sunburn)
- 2005 International Songwriting Competition Winner- Performance Category (Paris)
- 2004 MIANS Awards for Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Pop/ Rock Artist of the Year, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
- 2004 ECMA Award for Songwriter of the Year
- 2003 MIANS Award for Producer of the Year
- 2002 SOCAN Award for Most Country Airplay
- 2002 ECMA Award for SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
- 2001 ECMA Award for SOCAN Songwriter of the Year
- 2000 ECMA Awards for Single of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter of the Year
- 2000 MIANS Awards for Male Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year
- 2000 Canadian Radio Music Awards Nomination for Pop Adult Best Solo Artist
- 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Pop Category Finalist
- 2000 CCMA Award for Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration
- 2000 JUNO Nomination for Best Instrumental Album
- 1999 ECMA Award for New Artist of the Year
- 1999 MIANS Award for Producer of the Year
- 1999 JUNO Nomination for Best Roots & Traditional Album - Solo
[edit] Discography
- Stones (1998)
- Sunburn (2004)
[edit] Notable hits
These are songs that Sampson wrote for other artists.
- "Oh Love" - Brad Paisley (featuring Carrie Underwood)
- "Jesus, Take the Wheel" - Carrie Underwood
- "Just A Dream" - Carrie Underwood
- "Get Out Of This Town" - Carrie Underwood
- "God Made Woman" - Keith Urban
- "The Hard Way" - Keith Urban
- "You (or Somebody Like You)" - Keith Urban
- "Paris" - Faith Hill (Warner Nashville)
- "Any Other Day" - Bon Jovi
- "Measure of a Man" – Jack Ingram (Universal)
- "If I Had Your Name" – Martina McBride (RCA Nashville)
- "Unmistakable" - Jo Dee Messina
- "Long Night" - LeeAnn Rimes (Curb Records)
- "Save Myself" - LeeAnn Rimes (Curb Records)
- "Get Me Through December" - Alison Krauss / Natalie MacMaster
- "Crybaby" – Carolyn Dawn Johnson (Universal Canada)
- "Words Get In the Way" – Trace Adkins (Capitol Nashville)
- "Seein' Things" - Aaron Lines (RCA Nashville)
- "Lucky Me" - Great Big Sea (Warner Canada)
- "Let It Go" - Great Big Sea (Warner Canada)
- "My Name" - George Canyon
- "King For A Day" - Crush
- "How the West Was Won" - Shaye
- "Star" - Shaye
- "Followed Her Around" - Jimmy Rankin
- "Leavin Louisiana" - Jimmy Rankin
- "Maybe You're Right" - The Rankins
- "Another California Song" - Damhnait Doyle
- "Sleepy Maggie", "MacDougall's Pride" - Ashley MacIsaac
- "We All Need", "Angels", "Throwin' It All Away" - Realworld
