HIS ‘CHILLING’
MASTERPIECE
The writing of A Change Is Gonna Come was inspired by Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind after
Cooke had seen Peter, Paul and Mary perform it at Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream rally in
Washington. Cooke had been amazed that a white man could write such insightful lyrics, and
followed up with his own masterpiece. Cooke’s manager Allen Klein described the song as
“chilling” and when the singer fi rst previewed it to his protégé, Bobby Womack, who played
guitar in his band, the youngster remarked it “feels like death”. Sadly, Womack’s unsettling
premonition would be realised months later when Cooke was shot dead in shadowy
circumstances in a Los Angeles motel.1950s, Latin rhythms were in vogue and,
with the percussion section augmented by
bongos, the song had an almost Calypso feel.
One of the staples of Cooke’s road band,
Clifton White, who’d played on recordings
with The Mills Brothers, Percy Mayfi eld
and Jesse Belvin before joining Cooke and
being initially baffl ed by his use of repetition
on You Send Me, contributed the attractive
guitar fi gure.
Although it was a Rodgers and Hart
standard from the 1930s, Blue Moon had
a versatility that had served numerous
reinterpretations over the years, from Billy
Eckstine to Elvis Presley. Cooke’s take was
an agreeably soulful, mid-tempo shuffl e,
and once again the backing vocals were used
to pleasing eff ect. While Love You Most Of
All is unremarkable, Everybody Loves To
Cha Cha Cha and Only Sixteen became two
of Cooke’s best remembered singles, despite
reaching only No.31 and No.28 respectively
on the Billboard pop charts in 1959. In
truth, the lyrics of the former haven’t aged
as well as its infectious percussion-driven
arrangement, complete with congas and
bongos. The Blossoms, featuring a young
Darlene Love, provided backing vocals.
The Cooke vocal on Only Sixteen, with its
faint air of nostalgic sadness, is however,
a singing masterclass.
The B-sides of both these singles, Little
Things You Do and Let’s Go Steady Again,
are also worth noting because they were
penned by JW Alexander, Cooke’s friend
and business partner. A former singer with
another leading gospel outfi t in the 1950s,
the Pilgrim Travellers, it was Alexander
who’d wisely advised a young Cooke not
to try to compete with the gospel belters
while he was still a novice lead singer with
The Soul Stirrers. JW told him he “didn’t
have to holler like those guys. Just be sure
you’re singing loud enough for the people
to hear you – and then be certain they can
understand you.”
As a result, Cooke developed the intimate
style so apparent on these recordings.
Unlike many artists, who sounded as though
they were singing anonymously to the back
row of the hall, Sam Cooke always made it
sound as if he was singing directly to you. 9Cooke makes his point in
the studio in November 1960JW ALEXANDER
ADVISED COOKE
NOT TO TRY TO
COMPETE WITH THE
GOSPEL BELTERSJESS
RA
ND/
MIC
HAE
L^ OC
HS^ A
RCH
IVES
/GE
TTY
IMA
GES