Sam Cooke: Music Profile #2

From gospel to soul and a civil rights anthem: One of the greatest singers and songwriters of our time, here in 15 songs and videos.

As I noted two weeks ago in launching this new series—with Leonard Cohen—each of these career-spanning tributes will consist of about fifteen songs/videos, with biographical and music notes alongside. Sam Cooke is now gaining more attention because of his key role in the movie One Night in Miami (and Leslie Odom, Jr., who plays him, is up for a Golden Globe tonight). But I’ve been a Sam fan going back more than sixty years, although I didn’t become familiar with his 1950s gospel recordings until much later. Now I consider that among the greatest music of any kind this century, and Sam the most astonishing male vocalist. Oh, he also wrote the finest song of our era, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” See if you agree, then Comment or Share—or subscribe, it’s still free! First off, Dion’s recent tribute, with an assist from Paul Simon….

Sam Cooke, 1950-1964

Born in 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as Sam Cook. Son of a preacher man. Family moved to Chicago, where he joined his first gospel group at age 14. Five years later, still in his teens, he was recruited for one of the premier gospel groups, the Soul Stirrers. There he quickly established himself as primary soloist. This was the first song he cut with them, “Jesus Gave Me Water.”

Soon the Soul Stirrers easily filled churches and music halls. Sam became something of a heart throb. Women fainted. One of his young fans was a girl named Aretha Franklin, who later met him and named him as her greatest vocal influence. Gospel had a staggering influence on still-germinating rock ‘n roll and rhythm and blues. In this song, “Must Jesus Bear This Cross Alone,” Sam even breaks into a brief verse of “Amay-amay-amazing grace” that may give you goosebumps.

Believe me, I could pick any one of twenty Sam gospel tracks without any loss of quality. But this one, “Pilgrim of Sorrow,” showcases his growing solo (and future “soul”) stylings….

It doesn’t get any more intense in any genre than “Were You There (When They Crucified the Lord).” And it shows why he was such a tremendous influence on, among others, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Otis Redding….

Sadly, no video exists of the Soul Stirrers in this period performing. But this live “Nearer to Thee” at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A. has been called by some—Greil Marcus, among others—one of the greatest vocal performances of the century. Again, you can hear women falling out in the audience….

By 1955 rock ‘n roll was busting out—notably via Little Richard on the Soul Stirrers’ own label, Specialty. The Soul Stirrers’ wide use of guitar and drums and Sam’s vocals, as on the great “He’s My Guide,” clearly were keeping pace with a genre they had helped invent. Then, on the criminally obscure “He’ll Welcome Me,” below, dig the hot organ, backup singing and the thrill when Sam comes in—and then get up and dance, if only with yourself. If this was released last year I would have considered it my favorite song of 2020. Few expected Sam to leave gospel at that point, however….

Sam did finally stick his toe in the pop waters in 1956, seeking more fame and more fortune. He repurposed his gospel song “He’s So Wonderful” as “Lovable,” but he was so tentative, and afraid of a backlash, that he released it under the name of “Dale Cook.” A forgettable tune, it did not sell much but it exhibits some of Sam’s trademark vocal techniques….

Well, he did not miss the next time out, with the smash “You Send Me.” (Fun fact: It was originally released as the “B” side to “Summertime.”) More hits followed, many that he wrote himself, including “Chain Gang,” “Cupid,” “Wonderful World,” “Twistin’ the Night Away” and “We’re Having a Party.” We’ll skip them here as you may be ultra-familiar with them. Sam was also experimenting with pop standards so a couple of years passed before the music that would influence all “soul music” arrived. Just one example below, “Soothe Me,” where he was joined by friend Lou Råwls, and later covered by Sam & Dave….If you like this, then you’ll love “That’s Where It’s At.”

Unquestionably one of the greatest rock/soul moments in history came in Sam’s appearance at the black-oriented Harlem Square Club in Miami in 1963. This was the year before that “one night in Miami” when Malcolm X—in the movie—complained that Sam was focusing too much on playing for white folks and trying to make it at the Copacabana. But the Harlem Club recording, which did not surface until the 1980s—and is now a stone classic—showed where his true interests and talent resided. Here is the key cut, as he turns the poppy “You Send Me” deep black and then rocks out with “Bring It on Home to Me.” And listen to that audience. I can only imagine what he saw in the crowd that made him say, “I better leave that alone.”

Tina Turner called Sam the only singer she ever wanted to borrow from. Rod Stewart would outright steal. The Rolling Stones, among other rockers, were also paying attention. They covered Sam’s “Good Times” almost note for note on an early album….

Coolest cat in the world, 1963, visits American Bandstand with some “Good News,” and then chats with Dick Clark….

Sam had suffered from racism throughout his life, of course, and was turned away from hotels in the South even after he became a household name (he was arrested on one occasion when he protested). By 1963, he was taking matters into his own hands as the first major black artist to secure his own publishing and even launch his own record label (where he planned to produce, among others, his old friends, the Soul Stirrers). Hearing Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” had a profound effect on him. He recorded it and vowed to write his own civil rights anthem (he didn’t need Malcolm X’s urging, as falsely portrayed in One Night in Miami). Here’s a clip of Sam doing Dylan live, marred by the frugging dancers and so on….

Of course, Sam then wrote and recorded “A Change Is Gonna Come.” It was slated to be the “B” side—believe it or not—to his upbeat soul workout “Shake” but then he died tragically in that sordid motel incident. (I am not down with the “Cooke was murdered in an FBI set-up” or other such conspiracy, and believe me, I’ve read every book and watched every film.) So as a tribute to Sam, here’s a rather amazing live clip of the man who had a hit with “Shake,” Otis Redding, doing that final Cooke song with Eric Burdon….

Otis also did a fine version of “A Change Is Gonna Come” himself, but we will let Sam have the final words. For years few heard the key “and I go downtown” verse as it was cut from the single for length. There have been so many covers I wonder if some have ever heard the original…

Further listening: If you want to to savor more of the incredible gospel cuts, here are seven of the best you can easily find at You Tube (but I’ll let you do the work for a change): “Any Day Now,” “The Last Mile of the Way,” “Touch the Hem of His Garment,” “Remember Me,” “That’s Heaven To Me,” “Peace in the Valley,” “How Far Am I From Canaan.” But the list goes on.

On the secular side, check out his one-off Nightbeat album, which finds him in a relaxed, almost jazzy setting. Includes gospel-tinged “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” plus “Lost and Lookin,” “Trouble Blues” and Willie Dixon classic “Little Red Rooster.”

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including the bestseller The Tunnels (on escapes under the Berlin Wall), the current The Beginning or the End (on MGM’s wild atomic bomb movie), and The Campaign of the Century (on Upton Sinclair’s left-wing race for governor of California), which was recently picked by the Wall St. Journal as one of five greatest books ever about an election. For nearly all of the 1970s he was the #2 editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. Later he served as longtime editor of Editor & Publisher magazine. He recently co-produced a film about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and now has written and directed his first feature, Atomic Cover-up, which will have its American premiere at a festival this spring.