One of 13 children, Sam McClain first began singing in his mother’s gospel group when he was five, before starting work as a cotton picker. Disc jockey "Papa" Don Schroeder discovered McClain and signed him to the Bell Records subsidiary Amy, where the artist recorded eight singles. In 1970, McClain joined Atlantic Records for two excellent singles. After years of neglect, McClain re-emerged in the '90s with a fine series of albums for AudioQuest, and in the late-90s he signed with Telarc Records, releasing the excellent BLUES FOR THE SOUL in 2001.