Mike Sammes

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Mike Sammes (born in Reigate, Surrey, UK; 19 February 1928 – 19 May 2001) was a musician and vocal session arranger. From 1955 to the 1970s, he was responsible for much of the backing vocals on pop music recorded in Britain.

He began his interest in music by learning the cello at school, then worked briefly for the music publisher, Chappell & Company. After national service in the RAF in the late 1940s, he worked a variety of jobs until a fellow musician, Bill Shepherd, convinced him to form a group called The Coronets. This male vocal group recorded some covers of current hits and did some back-up work, but Shepherd lost interest.

Sammes, however, was greatly interested in the work and saw the business opportunities it provided. After bringing together the core group of singers in 1955, the ensemble was soon working four sessions a day, six days a week. They did back-ups for all the major and minor British singers, soundtrack and radio work, and thousands of radio jingles.

Under the name of 'The Mike Sammes Singers' they recorded seven albums between 1962 and 1988. In addition, they performed on numerous albums for Disneyland Records.

Barry Gray used them on the title themes for three of Gerry Anderson's shows, Supercar, Stingray, and The Secret Service. They helped out on The Beatles on the songs "I Am the Walrus" and "Good Night"; also on their last album, Let It Be, at the behest of Phil Spector.

By the mid-1970s, though, the demand for backing vocals had faded considerably, due to the introduction of multi-tracking and synthesizers.