Sam Woolf
performs on
the set of
American Idol.

parents were usually there. And when I
was on Idol, they were at every show:'
Roy, who says he calls Sam "Mr.
Wonderful," maintains they wouldn't have
it any other way. "Sam is my amazing
grandson who never ceases to amaze me
he said.

Former Detroiter Sam Woolf
— this year's American Ido
fifth-place finisher — boards
the bus for a 41-concert
North American tour.

Shelli Liebman Dorfman
Contributing Writer

S finger-songwriter Sam Woolf is
about to jump from a once-in-a-
lifetime-television competition
experience into what he calls "the coolest
summer I've ever had:'
The 18-year-old West Bloomfield native
is set to perform with the American Idol
Live! 2014 Tour after finishing in fifth
place on the Fox TV series that began with
auditions of 75,000 singers.
The 41-show tour, starring the sea-
son's top 10 contestants (including
Michiganders Jena Irene of Farmington
Hills and Malaya Watson of Southfield),
kicks off Tuesday, June 24, in Binghamton,
N.Y. Closer to home, it makes an 8 p.m.
Friday, June 27, stop at the Colosseum at
Caesars Windsor (no Detroit shows are
scheduled).
Sam received his "Golden Ticket" to
compete on Idol this past August, audi-
tioning at his mom's suggestion while in
Boston, where he was taking a five-week
course at Berklee College of Music.
He was quickly propelled into the spot-
light as an Idol finalist, gaining his own
fan club: the "Woolf Pack:' On June 3,
he was the focus of "Sam Woolf Day" in
Manatee County, Fla., where he now lives.
Sam wowed the show's three judges
— Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and
Keith Urban — from the start.
"Good Lord, your pitch is incredible
Urban told him following his initial audi-
tion, singing Ed Sheeran's "Lego House:'
"I really, really like your voice:'
After noting the treble clef tattoo on
Sam's arm, Connick said, "I love the whole
thing — how well you sing and how good
the entire package is."
He also was an audience favorite, with
young female fans clapping and cheering
— some in tears — when he sang week to

tos

week on the show. He quickly was deemed
the season's "heartthrob" (a term he didn't
particularly favor).
From the judges — including Lopez,
who told Sam, "You're so cute, it's crazy"
— he received the season's only "save a
reprieve that brought Sam back after he
was voted off the show. After that, he held
on for three more weeks.
Sam first performed publicly at his
sixth-grade talent show, singing the
Beatles' "Hey Jude:' About three years ago,
he taught himself to play guitar.
As he began to perform more seriously
and regularly at local venues, he focused
on studies that included those at the
Berklee summer course, where he studied
music theory and took private lessons.
"I was actually trained by an opera
singer, Robert Lischetti, who was my vocal
coach, so I could learn to sing with the
right technique Sam said.
He also was a student at the Del Couch
Music Education Foundation in Palmetto,
Fla., which established the Sam Woolf
Music Scholarship to provide other youth
the opportunity to study and create music.
"I spent a summer at Interlochen [Arts
Camp in Interlochen, Mich.], where I took
a singer/songwriter course he said.

Back To Michigan
Sam was a student at Scotch Elementary
School in West Bloomfield when he left
Michigan in 2006. "But I go back every
summer with my sister, Emily:' he said. "I
have family there, including my [mater-
nal] grandparents, [Thomas and Virginia
Hanawalt], in Pleasant Ridge.
"We also go up north to Charlevoix,
where we have family talent shows:'
And Sam's family is certainly not short
on talent. His great-grandfather and
namesake, Sammy Woolf, was a longtime
prominent bandleader in the Detroit
Jewish community; popular local musician

Jackie, Sam and Roy Woolf at
Interlochen Arts Camp in 2012

the late Mickey Woolf was Sam's great-
uncle. Sam's dad's brother is composer
Dr. Randy Woolf, who helped Sam with
his early music; his aunt, Randy's wife, is
pianist Kathleen Supove. Sam's late cousin,
former Detroiter Dr. Norman Letvin, a
renowned Harvard AIDS researcher, was
a classical clarinetist and chamber music
recitalist who'd played with Yo-Yo Ma.
When the Idol tour stops in Windsor,
Sam said he hopes to come to Michigan to
visit.
Currently, he lives with his paternal
grandparents, former Detroiters Dr. Elroy
("Roy") and Jackie Woolf, in Bradenton,
Fla. After his parents divorced, Sam and
his sister, Emily, now 21, moved in with
their mom. Mary Lamar has since remar-
ried and is living in Naples, Fla.
The siblings later lived with their dad,
Scott Woolf. In an Idol interview, Sam said
his dad "had some depression problems so
I moved in with my grandparents:' Scott
Woolf now lives in Massachusetts but was
seen in the Idol audience supporting his
son.
Very close with his Woolf grandparents,
Sam said, "My grandfather is like my unof-
ficial agent. When I played gigs, my grand-

Multitalented Musician
In addition to performing, Sam has writ-
ten more than 50 songs, describing his
own music as "acoustic folk/rock with a
little pop:'
"My main musical influences are Ed
Sheeran, David Gray and John Mayer; he
said.
Sam's uncle, former Detroiter Dr. Tod
Woolf of Sudbury, Mass., said, "Sam is a
natural with music, but he also came home
every day from school for four years and
sang, learned guitar and wrote songs in his
bedroom for hours, and took voice lessons.
He had no other hobby, and no 'B plan;
dedicating himself [solely] to music:' he
said.
"Sam will be able to continue to share
his music, based on his naturally beautiful
tone, perfect pitch and his original songs:'
Following the Idol tour, which ends Aug.
23, Sam, who worked with a school tutor
while on the show in L.A., plans to put
school on a brief hold. He graduated from
Braden River High School on May 31 and
has been accepted to the Berklee College
of Music.
"I was offered a scholarship there, but
I plan to defer for a year and then start:'
he said. "Putting out an album is my main
goal after the tour:'
In a June 8 tweet, Roy Woolf wrote,
"Sam knew what he wanted at an early
age — 13 — and strived for his passion to
have the world hear what is in his heart
and soul. He is on his way to his dream:'
"My passion is music, and I love to per-
form and write music:' said Sam. During
an Idol episode, he remarked, "It would be
really cool to have it as a career:'
No doubt he's on his way. For now,
though, the fun of summer is beginning.
"I'm excited about the tour, really excit-
ed:' he said. "I'm excited to see everyone:'
Roy Woolf's words following Sam's first
audition are already ringing true. That day,
he told his grandson, "This could be the
start of the biggest thing of your life:'

❑

Tickets to the American Idol Live!
2014 Tour, including the 8 p.m.

Friday, June 27, performance at the
Colosseum at Caesars Windsor, are
on sale at Americanldol.com/tour.
Cost: $35.25-$94.25.
$1 from every ticket sold is
donated to the Melanoma Research
Alliance.

JN

June 19 • 2014

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