The King of Hand-snapping

Sam Phillips, the king of hand-snapping, was born in Cleveland in 1956, and moved to Lakewood five years ago to raise his family in a community with strong values...

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Most recently, Sam was invited to a hand snapping competition against his rival, Bobby Dirtyfingers. When Dirtyfingers claimed the hand-snapping crown for himself on The Howard Stern Show, Sam had no other choice. Our once-and-future-king explains, "I went on the Howard Stern show to promote the bands I'm in, and to defend my art." Though Stern was unable to declare a winner, Dirtyfingers was exposed as more of a gimmicky finger-snapper than a musical hand-snapper.

Sam likes to stay politically active and believes that his political outlook is reflected in his attitude towards the music business. Even in the competitive world of music, Sam maintains a positive attitude and stays away from business opportunities that seem a bit too cut throat. He argues, "A lot of artists don't stand up for what they believe in." Sam takes every precaution not to be overtly commercial while maintaining his musical integrity. He doesn't believe in overexposure and has decided to lay low for a little while after appearing on the Howard Stern Show. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno asked him to appear recently, but Sam turned down the opportunity and stood his ground.

Although Sam's fame comes mainly from his hand-snapping, he considers himself a percussionist above all. He recently released a new CD featuring his hand snapping as well as his drumming, called "Hands of Time." ...