Loading...
Creator
Price, Sammy
Call number
Sc MG 465
Physical description
10.21 linear feet (11 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Sammy Price papers, Sc MG 465, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

Sammy Price was a recording artist, house pianist, recording supervisor, and band leader at Decca Records in New York. Additionally, he was the Executive Director of Neighborhood Board no. 2. The Sammy Price Papers, 1929-1992, consist of materials pertaining to his musical and political career.

Biographical/historical information

Samuel "Sammy" Blythe Price (Oct. 6, 1908, Honey Grove, Texas - Apr. 14, 1992, New York City), a self-taught pianist, debuted onstage dancing the Charleston with the Alphonso Trent Orchestra in 1925. He toured with the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) circuit, playing piano with renowned musicians like Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. Price was an accomplished and prolific recording artist as well, recording his first blues album in 1929 in Dallas, Texas, for J. Mayo Williams. From 1937 to 1954, Price was a recording artist, house pianist, recording supervisor, and band leader at Decca Records in New York. He performed with singers such as Trixie Smith, Coot Grant, Wesley Wilson, Blue Lu Barker, Bea Booze, and Peetie Wheatstraw. He eventually landed his own session in 1940, Sam Price and His Texas Blusicians.

Price organized the Jazz Festival Society of Philadelphia and the Harlem Jazz Festival Society. In the mid 1950s, he was booked by Jeunesses Musicales de France, and toured in Europe and North Africa with Emmett Berry, George Stevenson, Herbie Hall, Pops Foster, and Fred Moore. Eubie Blake ordained Price as the "boogie-woogie" king.

While in New York, Price became politically active in Harlem after meeting Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., on a NAACP boat ride. Price's uncle, Joseph E. Ford, managed Powell's political affairs. In the 1960s, Price became the executive director of the Neighborhood Board No. 2, Inc., a community organization governed by Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited (HARYOU-ACT), an organization that worked with young African Americans in Harlem. Neighborhood Boards were established to give residents of Harlem an active voice in creating policies that specifically addressed their needs, with particular emphasis on the needs of the underprivileged.

Scope and arrangement

The Sammy Price Papers, 1929-1992, consist of materials pertaining to his musical and political career. Included in the collection are interviews with Price and various versions of his autobiography, What Do They Want; interviews; published and unpublished sheet music; flyers; and programs. There are also contracts and correspondence which detail the financial and legal background for his songs; performances; concerts and engagements; and royalties, taxes, and bank statements. Materials concerning Price's political activities include correspondence primarily related to Price's capacity as director of Neighborhood Board No. 2. There are also letters generated by his work as executive director of Sam Price and Associates, and other organizations, along with memorabilia, financial documents, and printed matter.

The Sammy Price papers are arranged in three series:

  • Personal
    ca. 1969-1988

    This series contains biographical information, passports, certificates, and awards. The most significant part of this series pertains to interviews with Price, various versions of his autobiography What Do They Want, and other writings on his life and career.

  • Music
    ca. 1929-1992

    The Music series includes sheet music, published and unpublished; songs; and lyrics (handwritten and typed, some annotated) by Price and others, as well as flyers, programs, and printed matter. The contracts and correspondence detail the financial and legal background for his songs, performances, concerts, and engagements. The financial matter is significant because Price kept thorough records of his royalties, taxes, and bank statements, providing insight into the money he made as a musician for the majority of his career.

  • Political activities
    1965-1990

    This series is organized into four subseries and documents community activism in Harlem, especially with the HARYOU-ACT. The series contains correspondence, mostly in Price's capacity as director of Neighborhood Board no. 2. His involvement in other organizations and his position as executive director of Sam Price and Associates, a public relations consultancy, are also represented, along with memoranda, financial documents, and printed matter.

    The Neighborhood Board no. 2 files form the bulk of the series and outline the programmatic and financial workings of the board. The proposals and memoranda in particular detail the board's goals and objectives, and hint at how funding cuts affected their overall vision. Also included are plans and reports related to the election of community boards broadly representative of the community's major interest groups. The Other Organizations and Agencies subseries provide a picture of the various vehicles operating to offer services in Harlem and to develop grassroots leadership of adults and youth in attempts to solve the problems facing the community.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of Sharon Mack, 1991.

Processing information

Processed by Miranda-Tarisa Mims and Edwina Ashie-Nikoi, 2014.

Separated material

Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor

Access restrictions

Restricted access to some materials, mostly those related to employee records.