Sam L. Taylor (born 12 July 1916 and died in 1980 Lexington, Tennessee), best known as the tenor saxophonist Sam "The Man" Taylor, was a jazz and blues player, whose honking style set the standard for tenor sax solos in both rock and roll and rhythm and blues. Taylor attended Alabama State University, where he played with the noted Bama State Collegians. He worked with Scatman Crothers, Cootie Williams, Lucky Millinder, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Buddy Johnson, Louis Jordan, Big Joe Turner, and many more. He was one of the most requested session sax players in New York recording studios in the 1950s. Taylor also replaced Count Basie as the house bandleader on legendary disc jockey Alan Freed's "Camel Rock 'n Roll Dance Party" radio series over CBS.