Forty six years ago today Sam Cooke released what would soon come to be known as the last album he released while alive: Ain't That Good News. Cooke wrote five of the eleven songs on the LP, including A Change is Gonna Come, which would eventually become anthemic for Civil Rights Movement organizers and black citizens in much the same way that Dylan's Blowin' In the Wind had a year earlier. This makes sense because Cooke was reportedly both impressed upon hearing Dylan's song but somewhat bugged by the idea that a white guy could sing so eloquently about what was mostly sanctioned oppression faced by black people (something Cooke and his band members had recent first-hand experience with from touring in the South). Cooke's song, with lyrics written in the first person, dispenses with all of Dylan's storied ambiguity to tell the simple story of a man who simply wants to be free of public injustices and personal woes.
Here's a clip of Sam Cooke in action with one of his biggest hits from before the release of his final LP and also an arrangement of a traditional Appalachian folk song that was the final track on Ain't That Good News. Most of you will recognize Twistin' the Night Away (and perhaps realize that, when compared to Cooke singing his own song, Rod Stewart's '73 cover of it was actually a dull moment). Some of you may recognize the second song from a scene in Animal House. The tune is being plaintively sung by the folky acoustic guitar strummer sitting on the steps (played by Stephen Bishop, who in reality today is a commercially successful songwriter for movies) when an annoyed Belushi/Bluto smashes his git to pieces and then says, "sorry." Do you see a hint of strong emotions playing over Cooke's face as he sings the song's final lines: "a baby when it's sleeping, there's no crying." About a year earlier, Cooke's 18 month old son Vincent had accidentally drowned in a swimming pool. One of the recording production crew members from Ain't That Good News recalled that Cooke was brought to tears during one of the song's takes.
"Ain't That Good News" was a fantastic album indeed. Thanks for dedicating today's blog to the memory of a truly great artist.
Erik Greene
Author, "Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective"
www.OurUncleSam.com
Posted by: SamsNeph | 01 March 2010 at 13:27