“Legendary” (Billboard) soul man Ironing Board Sam – long lost for a time – has completed his comeback to the music world. This year will see Big Legal Mess Records release his label debut ‘Super Spirit’ in addition to a performance at the Newport Folk Festival.

He has already played at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival earlier this year and Lincoln Center Out-Of- Door last year. The artist behind a series of in-demand 45s from that era, Sam was also a regular on 1960s soul TV program Night Train. eMusic called him “a true maverick.”

For ‘Super Spirit,’ Ironing Board Sam travelled to producer Bruce Watson’s Dial Back Studio in Water Valley, Mississippi to record with guitarist and coproducer Jimbo Mathus, drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) and bassist Stu Cole (Squirrel Nut Zippers). Using Sam’s 60s and 70s singles as inspiration, Watson chose songs from the repertoires of Ann Peebles, The Gories, Jimbo Mathus, Jack Oblivian, Roy Hawkins and more.

Sam earned his nickname by mounting his keyboard on an ironing board with a strap that allowed him to walk the stage while playing, much as he did at Lincoln Center in 2014, where fellow Music Maker Relief Foundation artists Dom Flemons, Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins and Albert White joined him on stage.