Sam Cooke - The Complete Specialty Recordings, vols 1-3

Good Morning! Time for some music for The Lord.

Some may wonder why Sam hasn't shown up on the Soul side of things yet; well because a) this is where Sam first comes to stardom and b) It is quite likely that Cooke is at least as influential in his gospel years as he was as a secular artist.

Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He later added an "e" onto the end of his name, though the reason for this is disputed. He was one of eight children of Annie Mae and the Reverend Charles Cook, a Baptist minister. The family moved North to Chicago in 1933 like so many black families from the Deep South  during the Great Depression.

Rev Cook landed a pulpit position at Christ Temple Church in Chicago Heights. His southern-style preaching was one attraction, but the vocal harmonies of his musical offspring also became a draw. Five of the eight were talented vocalists, and the family began performing as a religious act, Rev. Cook and His Singing Children. Sam began his career singing gospel with his siblings in the group.

Young Sam grew to idolize and emulate the Soul Stirrers' tenor, R.H. Harris, whose three-octave range and startling falsetto made him a gospel star. By the time he enrolled at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, Sam Cooke had been singing professionally with his family for nearly ten years. He and four other teenagers formed a gospel quintet, the Highway QCs. The group covered most of the Soul Stirrers' repertoire, with Sam copying R.H. Harris' vocal gymnastics.

During high school, serendipity had placed Cook in regular contact with R.B. Robinson, a baritone with the Soul Stirrers who had moved to Chicago. Robinson was a relative of one of the QCs, and he began attending their rehearsals when he wasn't touring, acting as coach and polishing the act.

 In 1950, R.H. Harris decided to leave the Soul Stirrers and strike out as a solo act. The group auditioned several replacement tenors before taking R.B. Robinson's advice and inviting in Sam Cooke. At 19, he was nearly a full generation younger than the others in the group, but Sam fit right in as a singer — in part because he already knew most of Harris' vocal lines. The Soul Stirrers hired young Cooke, outfitted him with five new suits, and went on the road just days later. He sang with the busy group for six years, performing more than 1,000 concerts coast to coast and making dozens of records.

 Under Cooke's leadership, the group signed with Specialty Records and recorded the hits "Peace in the Valley", "How Far Am I From Canaan?", "Jesus Paid the Debt", and "One More River", among many other gospel songs some of which he wrote himself. Cooke was often credited for bringing the attention of gospel music to a younger crowd of listeners, mainly girls who would rush to the stage when the Soul Stirrers hit the stage just to get a glimpse of Cooke.

 The fatal flaw that would, at least in some part, lead to Sam's eventual death becomes clear during this time, by age 22 he is already juggling 3 pregnant girlfriends, two in Chicago and one in Cleveland. After all three girls give birth within a span of 5 weeks, Sam gets married...to another woman entirely!

This set has multiple versions of songs so you may enjoy it most on random shuffle. I've changed my mind on splitting this up across 3 weeks and I've added the other two volumes to the post links. see the notes.