Info for One Night Stand - Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963Sam Cooke's reputation as a brilliant singer is sometimes maintained in spite of some of his records, not because of them. Hugo and Luigi, his RCA producers, often drowned Cooke's stunning pipes in an ocean of inappropriate orchestras and choirs. But compare their single version of 'Chain Gang' to the stripped-down, gently swaying, and considerably more heartfelt live version on LIVE AT THE HARLEM SQUARE CLUB; no doubt about it, Cooke was a master, and if his producers had been a bit more sympathetic, his stature would be even higher now than it is.Recorded in Florida in 1963, just over a year before his murder, this 10-track set puts Cooke in front of a small combo and just lets the man go. Every track is a small masterpiece of soul phrasing, and the band is more than up to Cooke's vocal prowess. Listen and be amazed.„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.

1. Sam Cooke Forever
2. Sam Cooke Biography

Working with a merged band that included guitarist Cliff White and drummer Albert 'June' Gardner 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.

Throughout Cooke's voice is a raspy laser that makes it obvious what Rod Stewart picked up from this recording, and it is impossible not to hear Cooke's voice looming behind Stewart's once you've heard this amazing live set. 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.“ (Steve Leggett, AMG)Sam Cooke, vocalsClifton White, guitarCornell Dupree, guitarJimmy Lewis, bassAlbert “June” Gardner, drumsGeorge Stubbs, pianoKing Curtis, saxophoneTate Houston, saxophoneRecorded January 12, 1963 at Harlem Square Club, Miami, FloridaEngineered by Bob Simpson, Tony Salvatore, Steve RosenthalProduced by Hugo & LuigiDigitally remastered. Sam Cookethe son of Reverend Charles Cook, Sr., (a Baptist minister) and Annie May Cook was born January 22, 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1933.

Sam Cooke Forever

He had four brothers and three sisters – Willie, Charles Jr., L.C., David, Mary, Hattie and Agnes.Sam graduated from Wendell Phillips High School in 1948, where he distinguished himself as an “A” student as well as being voted “most likely to succeed.” During his formative years, Sam, together with his brothers Charles Jr., L.C. And sisters Mary and Hattie, performed as a gospel group “The Singing Children.”At the age of 15, Sam became lead singer of the famous “teenage” gospel group the “Highway QC’s” until he was 19 when he was hand-picked by Roy (S.R.) Crain, manager of the “Soul Stirrers,” to replace the legendary R.H. Harris as lead singer.In 1951, with the “Soul Stirrers,” he began his writing and recording career on Specialty Records with such gospel classics as “Nearer To Thee,” “Touch The Hem Of His Garment” and “Be With Me Jesus.” For six electrifying years he established a new standard for gospel expression.“It isn’t what you sing that is so important,” said Sam’s father, “but rather the fact that God gave you a good voice to use.

Sam Cooke Biography

He must want you to make people happy by singing, so go ahead and do so.”With these words of encouragement, he did just that.

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