Sammy Butcher

Who is Sammy Butcher?

Sammy Butcher, an Indigenous Australian, was born at Papunya, Northern Territory in Central Australia. He formed the Warumpi Band with George Burarrwanga, Neil Murray and Gordon Butcher in the late 1970s. His mother's side is from the south, the Pitjantjatjara tribe and his father's side from the Walpiri from Pikilyi, near Yinjirrimardi area.

Butcher released a solo album Desert Surf Guitar on CAAMA music. The album's name was inspired by the sand hills surrounding Papunya, "you can imagine them as being huge red waves on the ocean" He was the subject of the documentary Sammy Butcher, Out of the Shadows, part of the Nganampa Anwernekenhe series. The documentary looks at his life after the Warumpi Band.

He is renowned as one of the best guitar players to come out of Central Australia. He now lives in Papunya, 250 km west of Alice Springs.