Sam Cooke - My Kind Of Blues

Ripped at 24/44.1 wav and dithered to 16/44.1 FLAC... enjoy!!

RCA Victor LPM-2392
1961

Sam Cooke's voice is justifiably legendary, but most of his RCA albums are astonishingly little-known today, and My Kind of Blues explains why this is so, at least in part. The singing is superb throughout, but the repertoire, even in 1961, was not terribly well defined or the recordings well arranged. The basic problem lay in the nature of Cooke's career arc, which probably straddled too many styles and musical worlds for his own good -- the spiritual and the secular, pop and rock & roll, and pop and soul, all as defined in his time (which was, effectively, from the early '50s to the early '60s). The "blues" as a label on an album had a much wider meaning than it would have had at the other end of the decade, or any time since -- Cooke was part of a world where adult pop still held sway and seemed, at least for the LP market, a more attractive target than the teenage or even collegiate audiences of the time. Thus, the "blues" heard here would have been appropriate for a mainstream singer -- say, Sinatra, or Nat King Cole -- circa 1961 (or, really, about 1957 -- Cooke's producers were very conservative) -- rather than what most listeners today would call blues. Brassy, big-scale orchestrations abound, and even the leaner textured songs, such as "Little Girl Blue" and "You're Always on My Mind," rely on a reed or horn section, respectively, to augment the electric guitar, piano, bass, and brushed drums at the core of their arrangements. Some of this works beautifully, as on "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," which was a good enough song to make it into Cooke's set at his Copa appearances, and, along with a handful of other tracks here, also onto the compilation The Rhythm and the Blues (and the box set The Man Who Invented Soul). All of this is what would probably be called "smooth blues" (assuming it is defined as blues at all in a modern sense); it's more soul of a pop variety. But Cooke's voice carries it -- even the weakest arrangements and material get elevated, as the best of Cooke's interpretive instincts overcome the worst of his producers' instincts. Given its limitations, My Kind of Blues was never going to be a defining album in Cooke's output, and had he lived past 1964 it almost certainly would have been relegated to his "early period" in a full career. Its strongest moments, of which there are many, stand on their own, however, and the leanest of the arrangements point the way toward greater things that were to come, including the best parts of Mr. Soul and the whole Night Beat album.  - Bruce Eder/AMG

Sam Cooke - One Night Stand!

"Not only is this one of the greatest live soul albums ever released, it also reveals a rougher, rawer, and more immediate side to Sam Cooke that his singles only hinted at, good as they were. Working with a merged band that included guitarist Cliff White and drummer Albert "June" Gardner (New Orleans own)  from Cooke's regular touring outfit and saxophonist King Curtis and his band, Cooke brings a gospel fervor to these whirlwind versions, which are fiery, emotionally direct, and hit with uncommon power. Every track burns with an insistent, urgent feel, and although Cooke practically defines melisma on his single releases, here he reaches past that into deeper territory that finds him almost literally shoving and pushing each song forward with shouts, asides, and spoken interactions with the audience, which becomes as much a part of this set as any bandmember. "Chain Gang" is stripped down to a raw nerve, "Twistin' the Night Away" explodes out of the gate like a runaway rocket, and Curtis' sax breaks on "Somebody Have Mercy" make it sound like the saxophone was invented for this one song alone...... Although recorded January 12, 1963, at the Harlem Square Club in Miami in 1963, RCA didn't release it as an album until 1985. The set was remixed from the original first generation three-track tape for 2000's The Man Who Invented Soul box, and while the music (and Cooke's vocals in particular) sounded much cleaner, much of the crowd noise from the 1985 mixes was toned down, robbing the recording of some of its claustrophobic, frenzied power. The mix used here seems to more or less split the difference, but the crucial key is and was always Cooke's vocals, and while he was a marvelously smooth, versatile, and urbane singer on his official pop recordings, here he explodes into one of the finest sets of raw secular gospel ever captured on tape. It is essential listening in any version."  by Steve Leggett, AMG

YEAH, WHAT HE SAID!!

The album that terrified RCA so badly that they suppressed it for 22 years! The idea of it being compared to the Copa album was something they felt the need to avoid at any cost.

Sam Cooke's SAR Story

Given the fact that no less than Peter Guralnik has written superb notes to this historic set, you will have to excuse me for choosing to spare myself the embarrassment of attempting any sort of synopsis beyond saying that the Gospel disc is glorious and indispensable for any fan, the secular disc is perhaps less so, although the Sims Twins tracks alone are enough to make it worthwhile. Here is a link to Guralnik's notes and pictures from the accompanying book for this set. The book is 86 pages long so you will have to forgive me that I only scanned the covers and discography for the download.

http://www.songsofsamcooke.com/albums/sar_records_story.htm

The dl links are in the comments below.

"Sam Cooke's SAR Records Story is a double-disc set presenting material recorded for the legendary soul singer's own SAR label from 1959-1965, much of it produced by Cooke himself and including a few of his rough, unreleased demos. The first disc covers the label's religious side, with a multitude of cuts from Cooke's former group the Soul Stirrers (now with Jimmie Outler on lead vocals), plus a generous helping of songs by R.H. Harris & His Gospel Paraders and the Womack Brothers. The second disc covers essentially the same gospel-derived soul territory but with a secular bent, featuring future stars Bobby Womack (with the Valentinos), Billy Preston, and Johnnie Taylor, plus L.C. Cooke, Johnnie Morisette, the Sims Twins, and Mel Carter. All in all, it's an excellent look at a lesser-known portion of Cooke's career, and there's some great, underappreciated music to boot. [The 1995 edition was also produced in a 'longbox' packaging format.]" ~ Steve Huey

Sam Cooke - Night Beat

Yeah, I have finally screwed up the courage to make some attempt at dealing with Sam Cooke on the secular side. Given the stated theme of what we are doing here I had issues with how to cope with a guy whose first secular recordings resorted to white female choruses and strings. Reconciling that with the Chitlin Circuit theme was a bit problematical.

I am saved to large extent by reading Guralnick, Gilllete and Shaw and the magnificent book in the SAR set. (thanks Cliffy for all of those). Despite the obvious made for top 40 production of the early sides with Bumps Blackwell, and the next generation of similarly produced sides at Keen, there was still a different side of Cooke that is not so tame. I have chosen to chicken out and jump to that.

The fact is that Cooke still played far more Circuit style black venues than he did white venues throughout his short career; we are made more aware of gigs like The Coppa through choices made by record people. At first Sam cleaved to the careful sound and phrasing of his pop records and when touring black venues with Jackie Wilson in 1960-61, he was regularly 'cut up' each night by Wilson's drama and vocal gymnastics. By 1963 he had achieved the synthesis of what made him so special in Gospel with secular R&B. When Sams' management agreed to a second round of touring, Wilsons' people expressed wonder that he would subject himself to that abuse again. This time Cooke cut Wilson deep each and every night, leaving a trail of ecstatic, weeping women across the Chitlin Circuit. Now rearmed with the tools that made him the Gospel star he had once been, he was unstoppable.

As undeniably good as that wave of major market driven hits that launched Sam where, they can't hold a candle to Night Beat. This is Sam showing his true stripes as a soul god. Much more sparse and musically interesting arrangements, much more riveting songs and that voice......Good God that voice... so much better showcased in this context than in those previous gooey distractions. All by itself this album would place Cooke squarely in the center of our discussion at the end of the Burke post about greatest soul singers. BTW that is a 16 year old Billy Preston on organ! Cliff White and Barney Kessell are on guitars and that fine piano was Raymond Johnson.

More glorious Cooke coming soon, including the rare SAR set! 

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.