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Joe Sample(1939-2014)

  • Music Department
  • Composer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991 (not including the 2003 reunion album "Rural Renewal").

Sample began playing the piano when he was five years old. Since the early 1980s, he has enjoyed a successful solo career and has guested on many recordings by other performers and groups, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Jimmy Witherspoon, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Steely Dan. Although it received less radio airplay than several of his other releases, Invitation is considered by many to be his finest solo recording to date.

Some of his works are featured on The Weather Channel's Local On The 8s, and Nicole Kidman sang his song "One Day I'll Fly Away" in the Baz Luhrmann film Moulin Rouge!
BornFebruary 1, 1939
DiedSeptember 12, 2014(75)
BornFebruary 1, 1939
DiedSeptember 12, 2014(75)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Awards
    • 2 nominations total

Known for

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Moulin Rouge!
7.5
  • Soundtrack
  • 2001
Channing Tatum in Fighting (2009)
Fighting
5.6
  • Soundtrack
  • 2009
Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise (1991)
Thelma & Louise
7.6
  • Soundtrack
  • 1991
Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, Pam Grier, Michael Keaton, and Robert Forster in Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown
7.5
  • Soundtrack
  • 1997

Credits

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IMDbPro

Music Department



  • Code Name: Foxfire (1985)
    Code Name: Foxfire
    6.4
    TV Series
    • composer: theme music
    • 1985
  • Bruce Lee, Ahna Capri, Jim Kelly, John Saxon, Shih Kien, and Robert Wall in Enter the Dragon (1973)
    Enter the Dragon
    7.6
    • musician: keyboards (uncredited)
    • 1973
  • Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
    Shaft's Big Score!
    6.1
    • musician: piano (uncredited)
    • 1972
  • Killer by Night (1972)
    Killer by Night
    5.5
    TV Movie
    • musician: piano (uncredited)
    • 1972
  • Zig Zag (1970)
    Zig Zag
    6.1
    • musician: piano (uncredited)
    • 1970

Composer



  • Denise Donatelli in Soul Shadows (2012)
    Soul Shadows
    Video
    • music by
    • 2012
  • Who Am I?
    Video
    • Composer
    • 2007
  • CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984)
    CBS Schoolbreak Special
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1989
  • Code Name: Foxfire (1985)
    Code Name: Foxfire
    6.4
    TV Series
    • Composer
    • 1985
  • Dance of the Cookoos (1982)
    Dance of the Cookoos
    6.8
    • Composer
    • 1982

Writer



  • Paula DeAnda in Paula De'Anda: Young, Wild and Free (2012)
    Paula De'Anda: Young, Wild and Free
    Short
    • Writer
    • 2012

Personal details

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  • Alternative name
    • The Crusaders
  • Born
    • February 1, 1939
    • Houston, Texas, USA
  • Died
    • September 12, 2014
    • Houston, Texas, USA(lung cancer)
  • Spouses
      Myrna AcevedoAugust 8, 1987 - present (2 children)
  • Other works
    Album: "The Pecan Tree", 2002.

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Six grandchildren.

FAQ

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  • When did Joe Sample die?
    September 12, 2014
  • How did Joe Sample die?
    Lung cancer
  • How old was Joe Sample when he died?
    75 years old
  • Where did Joe Sample die?
    Houston, Texas, USA
  • When was Joe Sample born?
    February 1, 1939

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