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Sunday 18 May 2014

Southern Soul Sunday 33


Apologies in advance for a somewhat lazy post today
The decoration is nearing completion but things are still in a degree of disarray giving me limited access to the Soul section.
Shamefully I own very little stuff by Sam Cooke - something which I should clearly rectify.
I have the occasional track here and there and that's about it.
I was therefore pretty pleased to come across Sam Cooke at the Copa in the library last week
A live recording from the Copocabana, New York City, July 7th and 8th 1964.
Apparently in his own words he "bombed" the first time he played there in 1958 so he was pretty psyched up and determined to put on a good show this time around.
Given the audience there is a focus on show tunes in the set such as When I Fall in Love  for as he puts it "I want to be black.I'm not going to desert my people.But to crossover you must appeal to that market" Remember this is 1964.
Interestingly he also does some folk numbers such as If I Had a Hammer and Blowin' in the Wind and a gospel laced version of Tennessee Waltz.
As it is SSS  I've gone for the soulier songs and you are getting four for the price of two.
First up a medley of Try a Little Tenderness,(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons and You Send Me followed by his very own Twistin' The Night Away.
As Robert Alden correctly noted in the New York Times in 1964 "Mr Cooke is a hot item"

Sam Cooke - Try a Little Tenderness/(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons/You Send Me

Sam Cooke - Twistin' The Night Away

PS - I also got Dwight Yoakam 21st Century Hits 2000-2012 out the library which confirmed my suspicion that he hasn't had a decent song this Millennium!

5 comments:

  1. Can't have too much Sam Cooke! I haven't got this one, but do have 'Live at the Harlem Square Club.' It's a much livelier audience, though the sound quality isn't quite as good as your offering today.

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    1. It is not hard to imagine the audience at a Harlem gig being more up for it than the more staid Copa set!

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  2. Haven't heard this before, and will do so later. I looked for a match report in the Observer. Nothing. Nothing at all. I assume they just didn't turn up?

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    1. Beaten by t he better team on the day George. But a good day out

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  3. P.S. An invite to the fully restored private site is coming.

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