Myron Lee Samuels was a Baltimore native and longtime Maine resident, a musician, a music aficionado and an amateur photographer who built an extensive portfolio, which has now been donated to the Blues Archives at the University of Mississippi.
For 30 years, he devoted himself to the care of adults with developmental disabilities in various capacities through his work for the State of Maine, initially as a recreational therapist and most recently as a case manager. When not hard at work for the state, folks could find him sharing his passion for the blues and all music for decades as a volunteer DJ on WMPG community radio, and as a street musician singing his heart out and playing the blues harp at Portland area venues and farmers markets for all who would come by to listen and tap their toes.
After Samuel’s death, thecountryblues.com received a box of old negatives from the Samuel family, which we scanned and then transferee to the Blues Archives, in cooperation with the family. This is the only known gallery to exhibit the Myron Samuels previously unpublished images, most of which were taken during his residency in Maryland, typically of acoustic blues musicians. These photos add significantly to the documentation of the mid-Atlantic traditional and acoustic blues scene. Myron Samuels was a passionate blues fan and he devoted decades to this photo documentary project. We do not have exact dates when these photos were shot. The best estimate is circa 1980- 1985.
