Two years before releasing Gettin' By on Gettin' Down — the most guitar-driven, groove-heavy album of Sam Morrow's catalog, with songs that roll just as hard as they rock — Morrow hit the highway in support of his third record, Concrete & Mud. Despite the 28-year-old being a road warrior for years, this time things felt different. Joined by a band of amplified roots-rockers, Morrow spent eighteen months traveling halfway across the world, playing Concrete & Mud songs to the biggest audiences of his career. By the time the dust settled, he'd become a staple of Americana radio on both sides of the Atlantic, with outlets like Rolling Stone and NPR singing his praises. 

Those road miles set the stage for Gettin' By on Gettin' Down, a modern album that revisits — and reshapes — the primordial sounds of hip-shaking rock & roll. These nine songs are rooted in grease, grit, and groove, from the swampy soul of "Round 'N Round" to the funky syncopation of "Rosarita" to the hook-laden rock of "Money Ain't a Thing." There's hardly an acoustic guitar in sight; instead, amplifiers and guitar pedals rule the roost, with everything driven forward by percussive rhythms that owe as much to R&B as country music. Written and recorded in the wake of Concrete & Mud's acclaimed tour, Gettin' By on Gettin' Down doubles down on the electrified fire and fury of Sam Morrow's live shows, with a road-ready band joining him on every song.

A chance meeting in Memphis laid the groundwork for a unique musical partnership between soul-blues powerhouse Sugaray Rayford and producer, songwriter Eric Corne. Combining classic soul melodies with funky R & B grooves, raw blues power, and mashed up with modern sensibilities, the pair's first collaboration, Somebody Save Me, earned Rayford a 2020 Grammy nomination while later that year he took home Blues Music Awards for 'Soul Blues Male Artist' and 'B.B. King Entertainer of the Year.'

Last summer's adventurous single "Homemade Disaster" took things further, landing on multiple retro soul and new blues playlists on Spotify, with PopMatters declaring the track "will appeal to fans of Gary Clark Jr. and Chicano Batman." 

Now they are back with In Too Deep, Rayford's second full length for Forty Below Records.

At his core, Sugaray Rayford is a unifying force. His live shows are a party. Some conversations may be had, and some self-reflection may occur, but at the end of the day, people leave feeling a sense of joy and togetherness. This shines through on the album's closer, the slinky, funky "United We Stand". As the album fades, Rayford takes us home with concert banter and good vibes, a feeling that lingers, tempting the listener to hit play again.

After finding some early success with the award-winning The Mannish Boys, Rayford struck out on his own with Blind Alley. In 2017, The World That We Live In helped Rayford break through to the upper echelon of the blues world while also putting the soul community on notice that he had arrived. Since joining Forty Below Records, Rayford's sound has continued to evolve in compelling ways. "Eric and I talk about all styles of music from Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield to Anderson Paak and The Roots to Black Pumas and Alabama Shakes. We both love classic soul and blues, but we also dig old-school hip hop."
 
Born in Tyler, Texas, Sugaray Rayford's early years were full of turmoil. His mother struggled to raise three boys alone while battling cancer. "She suffered, and we suffered,' Rayford says. "Then, we moved in with my grandmother, and our lives improved. We ate every day, and we were in church every day, which I loved. I grew up in Gospel and soul." Rayford began his musical career at the tender age of seven, singing and playing drums in church, and his gospel influences shine through in his music. The soulful rasp and expressive vocal style hint at his first-hand experience with hardship, and a childhood marked by poverty and loss.
As an African American youth growing up in poverty, Rayford saw the military as a path out serving ten years in the Marines. Today he is as comfortable using his voice to deliver songs with a message as he is singing about love. "I believe in social justice and want that to be a focus in the music, but I also like to have fun. The light and the shade, baby!" says Rayford.

"Think back to, say, the Golden days of Chess and people like Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters; then factor in the sound of classic soul men like Solomon Burke and add a sprinkle of the big-voiced icons like Teddy P and you're getting near to the sound of Sugaray Rayford. Float that over an authentic soul backing in the manner of Daptone and Stax, and you're getting near to the sound of 'Somebody Save Me.'" - Soul and Jazz and Funk

In the studio and in person, Sugaray Rayford has developed a reputation as a force to be reckoned with and an artist to watch in the coming years. So, "Sit back and listen to one of today's best blues-soul singers. Even better, attend one of his live performances where his energy can totally galvanize an audience" - Elmore Magazine

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