Sam Cooke

All the Sam Cooke posts were from the Night Beat (re-mastered) album and not as listed by who ever is doing the listing.

Charles Brown’s “Trouble Blues” starts with Sam mmm-mmm-mming the melody against bass and drums. Then the piano and organ come in, with Clif White’s guitar laying triplet chords against the groove. Billy Preston has a nice solo, then a closing chorus. Beautiful!

Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” starts with Billy Preston crowing on the Hammond (and later barking with the dogs). This great blues tune has been recorded by everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Paula Lockheart, but this rendition has to rank up there with the best. Sam knows just where to leave a gap, how to rush the beat, when to move up an octave.

Saddled with soaring strings and vocal choruses for maximum crossover potential, Sam Cooke’s solo material often masked the most important part of his genius — his glorious voice — so the odd small-group date earns a special recommendation in his discography. Thankfully, Cooke’s voice took center stage on this admirably low-key session from February 1963, recorded in Los Angeles with a quartet of studio veterans. Unlike so many session crews and producers of the time, thes... MORE

because i am in the uk i am having trouble downloading this song can anyone help

Learned on WFUV this morning that it's Sam Cooke's birthday. I recall my first introduction to this song was on the soundtrack to the film "Animal House." My dad took me to see "Animal House" when I was 13. Profanity, nudity, binge-drinking. I loved every minute of it. Happy birthday, Sam.

WONDERFUL - adjective 1. excellent; great; marvelous: We all had a wonderful weekend. 2. of a sort that causes or arouses wonder; amazing; astonishing: The storm was wonderful to behold. — Synonyms: awesome, wondrous, miraculous, prodigious, astonishing, amazing, astounding, phenomenal, unique, curious, strange.

I know that we all feel an impending sense of change. I'm definitely feeling it right on the cusp of this year. Good or bad something is going to change. It's inevitable! So I checked my songs of change to see what I might post. I'm not posting Tears For Fears or David Bowie but I really like these songs I'm posting. I might be a little awol for a week or two on Mog and I thought that I should share some tidbits of change for you all. The first two songs are poignan... MORE

Last week was the 40th anniversary of Otis Redding, along with six of his bandmate's death in plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin. After doing my write up about Otis, I figured it would be a shame to not follow up with the story of Sam Cooke. Sam Cooke has been accredited as many things: the most important soul singer (recognized by some to be the inventor of soul music), one of the first recording artists to attend to the business side of his music(he founded his own ... MORE

Sam Cooke is probably best known for his pop standards "Wonderful World," "Chain Gang," and "Twistin' the Night Away," among others. His delicate, yet robust and earthy vocal performances were a signature, and he sits amongst legendary soul singers as Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and James Brown. But there's one song on this compilation that towers above all the other hits.
As the story would have it (or at least Wikipedia and the liner notes in the anthology Portrait of... MORE

To cover my bases: Yes, Sam Cooke is great. This song is great. And Night Beat is capital-F Fantastic.
But what really makes me want to spray my brains right now is the arrangement/instrumentation. The way that for the first 4 seconds you feel as if you accidentally bought the soundtrack to a Kubrick film, then just as the tone is set a jittery acoustic guitar crashes onto the scene and invites you to a tailgate party with the Hawaiian Tropic girls. The way the steady puls... MORE

This song is a particular favorite of mine. Most likely you guys have heard of Sam Cooke. If not, then... it's a good thing you're reading this.Sam Cooke was a very influential soul artist and producer, responsible for the classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" (which was released after his death), a song that was about the Civil Rights Movement and struggles faced by African-Americans.This is not, however, the song that I want to present to you. No, no, instead I'm going to pro... MORE