Sam Cooke
The Best of Sam Cooke
Play The Best of Sam Cooke
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AMG Review of The Best of Sam Cooke
Steve Leggett
All Music GuideThe problem with issuing compilations of Sam Cooke material is one of licensing, since his early gospel work with the Soul Stirrers is owned chiefly by Specialty Records; his first secular pop hits like "You Send Me," "(What A) Wonderful World," and "Only Sixteen" are owned by Keen Records, his middle pop period and songs like "Chain Gang," "Cupid," "Twistin' the Night Away," "Having a Party," and "Bring It on Home to Me" are owned by RCA Records, and recorded material from the last year of his life, which includes the magnificent "A Change Is Gonna Come," is controlled by ABKCO Records. Any collection hoping to make a full survey of Cooke's career is thus extremely difficult to assemble. This set, which duplicates the track listing and sequence of 1998's Greatest Hits CD issue, draws from his RCA output, with "You Send Me," "(What A) Wonderful World," and "Only Sixteen" added from the Keen years. Notably absent is the ABKCO single "A Change Is Gonna Come," arguably Cooke's greatest song, and the one where he came closest to combining the gospel and secular sides of his nature. The story told here -- great as it is -- is therefore incomplete.
there are several reasons to listen to Sam Cooke...
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...But this one may be the most arresting.The man took Gershwin's "Summertime" and turned it into something I can't describe with any concrete ideas. His version is more than good, more than different, more than an interesting take on an old standard. It's like the melody hovers just above the ground, but never quite touches it. It's surreal, like a ghost. This song comes through the mist in the d
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SAM COOKE - You Send Me
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Sam Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He added an "e" onto the end of his name because he thought it added a touch of class. He was one of seven children of Annie Mae and the Reverend Charles Cook, a Baptist minister. The family moved to Chicago in 1933. Cooke began his musical career as a member of a quartet with his siblings, The Singing Children, and, as a teenager, he was a membe...
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Word association #1: WONDERFUL
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WONDERFUL- adjective1. 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.
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And Now For Something Completely Different
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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, h...
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 "The Best of Sam Cooke")
