Born in Kansas City and based in New Orleans, guitarist and singer Samantha Fish is renowned for her high-octane live performances and soulful songwriting. The latter saw her hit new heights with her 2023 album Death Wish Blues, a collaboration with singer Jesse Dayton that topped the Billboard blues chart and earned a Grammy nomination.
Not one to rest on her laurels, she’s back with her new record, Paper Doll, nine tracks of maximum-energy, soul-soaked blues rock.
The first music I remember hearing
I remember riding in the car with my mom and my Aunt Linda, and hearing how joyful they were singing along to the radio. They were so happy. It was a lot of nineties contemporary stuff, and they listened to a lot of rock’n’roll.
The first song I performed live
If It Makes You Happy by Sheryl Crow. That was the first song I ever learned on guitar and sang simultaneously. And that was one of the first songs I performed live, at a party. I was sort of thrown on stage at one point. I never would have gotten up there if I’d had even a second longer to think about it, because I had so much stage fright, and I was really shy.
The greatest album of all time
Exile On Main St. The Stones, man, they are the greatest rock band. Exile On Main St is them leaning into their blues stuff; Rocks Off, Shake Your Hips, it’s them being a rock band and a blues band, and those are my favourite things.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin. She’s perfection. Her tone, her range, the emotion, the phrasing… There’s never been anybody who can sing like her. It’s so effortless, and it feels like it’s not even over-the-top. She’s always been so cool, how she delivers. It’s out of this world.
The guitar hero
I think what makes a great guitar player is having a voice that’s recognisable. That doesn’t always mean they’re the most technical player, but that they have a unique style. B.B. King was one of those guitar players. He carved out such a unique voice for himself, and he played from the heart. Jimmy Page is another one. And Prince. It’s tough for me to narrow down guitar players, because it’s so subjective.
The best cover version
Aretha Franklin’s cover of Bridge Over Troubled Water. It’s such a beautiful song anyway, but she’s playing piano and singing and there’s a soul in the pocket of the song. She takes it to a different place and makes it a soul song. You would never guess it’s ever been anything but a soul song.
The songwriter
Townes Van Zandt. There’s something so heartbreaking about the way he writes, he’s always really spoken to me. It’s just the way his voice sounds – there’s this sadness, this quality to what he’s writing about. Waitin’ Around To Die is a beautiful song. I’ll Be Here In The Morning is one I’ve covered for years, and I did with Jesse Dayton. He’s got a way of reaching into my soul.
The best record I've made
The new one [Paper Doll]. As I get older, you get more comfortable, so the newest record is where you feel the most at home. I think when people hear it they’re going to go: “That’s who Samantha is.” It’s between that and Death Wish Blues [2023], because that was a really special record, and I got to work with Jesse Dayton and Jon Spencer, who I’ve admired for years.
The worst record I've made
It’s the first record [Live Bait, 2009]. It was self-produced, before I got signed to a record label, and it was just a live album that I recorded at a bar. It was the first time I’d ever heard my voice on a record, and I didn’t sound like the person I heard in my head. I sounded like a little kid. When I first heard that record, I cried. It broke my heart when I saw somebody buy one on eBay for seven hundred dollars.
The most underrated band ever
James Booker is a New Orleans piano player, and I wish more people knew about him, because he’s one of those deeply emotional players and singers and has an incredible story. He’s a New Orleans legend.
My Saturday night / party song
RL Burnside is one of my favourite artists, and I always talk about this record, A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey, that he did with Jon Spencer. I love Goin’ Down South. That opening guitar line is so grungy, and then it’s the stomping drums. That has always gotten me fired up.
The song that makes me cry
Bob Dylan’s Boots Of Spanish Leather. It’s just so sad. He’s switching between two voices in the song, one is leaving, the other one’s at home. It’s devastating.
The song I want played at my funeral
If they don’t just chuck me into a ditch, I really like Junior Kimbrough’s Meet Me In The City. There’s something very dreamy about it. It’s a song that reminds me of getting ready for the next thing. If they play that song at my funeral, it’ll give somebody that same dreamy kind of feeling.
Paper Doll is out now via Rounder
