“The work is excellent...the songs are tender and gentle... Hill gives us songs to help us open our veins that will then bring solace. Actually they whisper into all of our souls”.
SOUL SURMISE: Author of Walk On; The Spiritual Journey of U2
About...
Sam Hill Jr has been writing and performing for over 30 years, though he has had time away living a quiet life in Cornwall for over ten years. During the time away he wrote and recorded the beautiful new album 'Cowboys and Moonbeams' in an old farm building next to his isolated home overlooking the North Cornish Coast. Audiences will now be able to hear some of these new songs live as Sam is now based back in the North of England, 2019 sees Sam planning to be back on the road again.
Always under the mainstream radar Sam Hill Jr has performed at many well known venues and festivals throughout the UK and Ireland with stints in Holland, the USA and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The Marque and Borderline in London, The Edinburgh Festival, folk/acoustic venues, arts centres and theatres. Often solo and sometimes with other musicians depending on where the music is taking him.
RECORDING
Sam has recorded and produced albums in the UK and USA working with some very gifted and well known musicians.
UK:
Richard G. Mitchell, Ivor Novello Award winning film writer, long time friends Sam and Richard have produced and written on many of Sam's projects.
For many years Sam collaborated with producer Alan Gregson (known for his work with Corner Shop, Badly Drawn Boy etc) and violinist Richard Curran known for his work with Bert Jansch and Steve Tilston (Alan and Richard have also played many live shows with Sam).
On the Gracenotes album musicians included: Mark Edwards (Katie Melua/ Duke Special/Aztec Camera) and Dave Clifton (Julia Fordham, Tinika Tikaram).
USA:
Sam recorded his 'Sunset Grill' album in Nashville TN working with multi-platinum mixing engineer and producer Russ Long. Musicians who played on the album included:
Phil Madeira, a member of The Red Dirt Boys’, Emmylou Harris's band. Phil also played on the more recent 'Cowboys and Moonbeams' album.
Grammy Award winning pedal steel player Al Perkins, who has worked with too many legends to list and legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy.
Poets:
Sam has also recorded two albums with performance poets, 'Gracenotes with Steve Stockman under the name 'Stevenson & Samuel' and 'Pray For The World' with Stewart Henderson which featured a variety of artists. Stewart and Steve both regularly appear on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Ulster and have published many books.
For more info about some of the musicians Sam has worked with see the Musicians Photos Page. Click here MORE INFO
Always under the mainstream radar Sam Hill Jr has performed at many well known venues and festivals throughout the UK and Ireland with stints in Holland, the USA and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The Marque and Borderline in London, The Edinburgh Festival, folk/acoustic venues, arts centres and theatres. Often solo and sometimes with other musicians depending on where the music is taking him.
RECORDING
Sam has recorded and produced albums in the UK and USA working with some very gifted and well known musicians.
UK:
Richard G. Mitchell, Ivor Novello Award winning film writer, long time friends Sam and Richard have produced and written on many of Sam's projects.
For many years Sam collaborated with producer Alan Gregson (known for his work with Corner Shop, Badly Drawn Boy etc) and violinist Richard Curran known for his work with Bert Jansch and Steve Tilston (Alan and Richard have also played many live shows with Sam).
On the Gracenotes album musicians included: Mark Edwards (Katie Melua/ Duke Special/Aztec Camera) and Dave Clifton (Julia Fordham, Tinika Tikaram).
USA:
Sam recorded his 'Sunset Grill' album in Nashville TN working with multi-platinum mixing engineer and producer Russ Long. Musicians who played on the album included:
Phil Madeira, a member of The Red Dirt Boys’, Emmylou Harris's band. Phil also played on the more recent 'Cowboys and Moonbeams' album.
Grammy Award winning pedal steel player Al Perkins, who has worked with too many legends to list and legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy.
Poets:
Sam has also recorded two albums with performance poets, 'Gracenotes with Steve Stockman under the name 'Stevenson & Samuel' and 'Pray For The World' with Stewart Henderson which featured a variety of artists. Stewart and Steve both regularly appear on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Ulster and have published many books.
For more info about some of the musicians Sam has worked with see the Musicians Photos Page. Click here MORE INFO
Words from Sam...
"The songwriting never stops, it never goes away".
“I’m a heart songwriter, the songs, they all mean something to me, based on my life. Often people close to me, the joy and pain of living, love, society, dealing with emotions, surviving…. I've always wanted to express something. From early on as a songwriter I was drawn towards and influenced by songwriters like Neil Young, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Randy Newman, but I’ve never had the desire to write in any one genre or to sound like someone else, why would I ?”....
"The recording projects are all individual, songwriting and producing an album of songs is much the same as a painter putting on a show of their latest work, experimenting, developing and going in new directions. The 'Angels & Ghosts' concept is very different to 'Cowboys and Moonbeams', 'Angels & Ghosts' was far more produced with bigger musical landscapes and atmosphere, some of the songs were written in the studio. I had much more to say with just words on the 'Cowboys and Moonbeams' album so the production is simple and intimate. I knew what I wanted to say after the first song was written in the shed at the end of the garden where we were living looking down the North Coast of Cornwall".
"My father was a great musician and performer, he taught me to play guitar when I was nine years old just after we moved from Scotland to North West England, cowboy gospel songs were the first thing I learned. My older sister bought every Beatles record on the day of release which was the soundtrack coming out of her room along with The Beach Boys. As a teenager my friends were listening to Led Zeppelin, Cream etc... I enjoyed all that music but was going home and listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, James Taylor, CSNY... . I was in a band with friends from school, played a 1961 Fender Strat but acoustic based music was where I was heading, I think listening to 'Bookends' and 'Sweet Baby James' changed everything".
"I’ve written songs that I'm happy with and managed to work with some world class musicians who also turned out to be great human beings. People are important, working with those have a heart for the music makes all the difference".
“I’m a heart songwriter, the songs, they all mean something to me, based on my life. Often people close to me, the joy and pain of living, love, society, dealing with emotions, surviving…. I've always wanted to express something. From early on as a songwriter I was drawn towards and influenced by songwriters like Neil Young, James Taylor, Paul Simon and Randy Newman, but I’ve never had the desire to write in any one genre or to sound like someone else, why would I ?”....
"The recording projects are all individual, songwriting and producing an album of songs is much the same as a painter putting on a show of their latest work, experimenting, developing and going in new directions. The 'Angels & Ghosts' concept is very different to 'Cowboys and Moonbeams', 'Angels & Ghosts' was far more produced with bigger musical landscapes and atmosphere, some of the songs were written in the studio. I had much more to say with just words on the 'Cowboys and Moonbeams' album so the production is simple and intimate. I knew what I wanted to say after the first song was written in the shed at the end of the garden where we were living looking down the North Coast of Cornwall".
"My father was a great musician and performer, he taught me to play guitar when I was nine years old just after we moved from Scotland to North West England, cowboy gospel songs were the first thing I learned. My older sister bought every Beatles record on the day of release which was the soundtrack coming out of her room along with The Beach Boys. As a teenager my friends were listening to Led Zeppelin, Cream etc... I enjoyed all that music but was going home and listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, James Taylor, CSNY... . I was in a band with friends from school, played a 1961 Fender Strat but acoustic based music was where I was heading, I think listening to 'Bookends' and 'Sweet Baby James' changed everything".
"I’ve written songs that I'm happy with and managed to work with some world class musicians who also turned out to be great human beings. People are important, working with those have a heart for the music makes all the difference".