Sam Milgrom
Steven Allen “Sam” Milgrom (born November 19, 1952, Ferndale, MI) is an American music retailer, promoter, and entrepreneur. He currently owns the Mr Musichead Gallery in Hollywood, California.[1].
Milgrom traces his musical career back to seeing guitarist Andres Segovia perform with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 1958. Inspired by this performance, he began classical guitar lessons. After seeing the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964, he switched over to Rock & Roll, playing in various local bands. In 1968, he formed the Davison West band, who had some local success in the early 1970s.
Davidson West broke in the early 70s. Instead of joining another band, Milgrom decided to get involved in the retail side of the business, taking a job at Harmony House Records, a Michigan-based chain of stores. He then worked for two other retail music stores before deciding to open up his own store, Sam’s Jams, in Ferndale in 1978. It was the first store in the area to stock punk and used LPs. The store moved several times into increasingly larger spaces in Ferndale, increasing its inventory to hundreds of thousands of pieces[2]. Milgrom was featured in the 1989 book Detroit’s Powers and Personalities by Tim Kiska[3]. Sam’s Jams was named Best Record Store by both Detroit Metro Times[4] and Detroit Monthly[5] magazine. The store was also known for its live in-store performances featuring acts such as Jonathan Richman, Terence Blanchard, Charlie Haden, and Kevin Eubanks.[6]
Those shows led to his next venture, the Magic Bag Theater. Located in a Ferndale movie house that had declined into a XXX porn theater, Milgrom reopened the venue as a 300-capacity multi-art venue in 1991[7]. Under his ownership, Magic Bag was a launching pad for local acts, including Kid Rock and Jack White (when he was a member of Goober and the Peas)[8], and a popular stop for touring bands, with acts as varied as Ben Harper, Jeff Buckley, Patti Smith[9], Everything But The Girl, Roomful of Blues[10], Sheila E[11], and Ted Hawkins[12] appearing on its stage. He launched the Deep Freeze Blues Festival in 1995, which continues to this day as the Anti-Freeze Blues Fest[13], and the “brew n view” film series.
Milgrom sold his interest in the club in 1996 and, disillusioned with music retail, he closed the store, and decided to move to Los Angeles. In 1998, he opened the Mr. Musichead Gallery[14]. Initially on the Melrose Avenue retail strip, he expanded several times, eventually settling into its current location on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The gallery specializes in music-related photography, album cover art, and artworks by famous musicians representing more than 60 musicians and photographers. Classic images of the Rolling Stones, Dylan, the Clash, Van Halen, and David Bowie, taken by renowned photographers including Bob Gruen, Danny Clinch, and Mick Rock can be seen and are available for purchase. He has curated dozens of exhibitions by artists including Storm Thorgerson, Neil Zlozower, Jerry Garcia, Brian Duffy, Allan Tannenbaum, Pearl Thompson, Baron Wolman, David Burnett, Robert Knight, Brandon Boyd, Chris Cuffaro, and Alan Aldridge[15]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Our Story". Mr Musichead Gallery. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ "Competitors Drown Out Record Shop". Oakland County Daily Tribune. June 26, 1994.
- ↑ Kiska, Tim (1989-09-01). Detroit's powers & personalities. Momentum Books. ISBN 9780961872618. Search this book on
- ↑ "Best of Detroit 1987". Detroit Metro Times. July 15, 1987.
- ↑ "Best of Detroit 1996". Detroit Monthly. January 1996.
- ↑ Moira, McCormick (September 26, 1987). "Live Jazz Concerts Boost Business At Sam's Jams" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ Blitchok, Dustin. "Sam's Jams, Magic Bag founder returns to Detroit for exhibit". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ "Jeremy Haberman, former Magic Bag owner, dies at 42". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ "Magic Bag | The Concert Database". theconcertdatabase.com. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ Chessler, Suzanne (December 7, 1995). "Roomful of Blues: A Dance Band with Variety". Oakland County Daily Tribune.
- ↑ Graff, Gary (April 29, 1995). "Sheila E Gets Back To Her Latin Roots". Detroit Free Press.
- ↑ Graff, Gary (May 23, 1994). "Late Bloomer Plays the Magic Bag". Detroit Free Press.
- ↑ Gilbert, Melanie (January 4, 1996). "Deep Freeze Music Festival Puts Winter Blues on Ice". Detroit News.
- ↑ "Our Story". Mr Musichead Gallery. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
- ↑ "Artists & Photographers". Mr Musichead Gallery. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
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