ain't that good news

Sam Cooke carried on and found expression for the hard and soft sides of soul with this consummate culmination of his career.  After the artistic triumph of 'Night Beat', Cooke renegotiated his contract with RCA to allow more freedom in the recording process.  'Ain't That Good News' retains the production team of cousins Luigi Creatore and Hugo Peretti and features an extended cast of studio musicians that included a rhythm section of Chuck Badie, Buddy Clark, Ray Pohlman, Clifford Hils, and Eddie Tilman on bass;  Joseph Gibbons on banjo;  Hal Blaine, John Boudreaux, Edward Hall, and Earl Palmer on drums;  Norman Bartold, Le Roy Crume, Barney Kessel, John Pisano, Allen Reuss, Howard Roberts, and Clifton White on guitar;  Emil Radocchia on marimba, percussion, and tympani; Linwood Mitchell on percussion;  Harold Battiste and Raymond Johnson on piano;  Lincoln Mayorga on piano and celeste;    the horn section of   William Hinshaw on french horn;  Jewell Grant, William Green, Plas Johnson, Edgar Redmond, and Red Tyler on saxophone;  Milton Bernhart, Harry Betts, Louis Blackburn, John Ewing, John Halliburton, David Wells, and Ernest Tack on trombone;  John Anderson and Melvin Lastie on trumpet;   and the strings section of  Jesse Ehrlich and Emmet Sargeant on cello;  Harry Hyams and Alexander Neiman on viola;  Israel Baker, Robert Barene, Arnold Belnick, John DeVoogdt, William Kurasch, Irving Lipschultz, Leonard Malarsky, Jack Pepper, Ralph Schaeffer, Sidney Sharp, Darrel Terwilliger, and Tibor Zelig on violin.     Sam Cooke handled lead vocals;  with James Bryant, Gwenn Johnson, Carol Lombard, Robert Tebow, George Tipton, Jackie Ward, and The Soul Stirrers on backing vocals.  Dave Hassinger was the recording engineer and arrangements and conduction were done by René Hall and Joe Hooven.  

The first side of the album is characterized by uptempo dance numbers while the second side has orchestrated ballads.  Cooke would consider:   "As a singer grows older, his conception grows a little deeper, because he lives life and he understands what he is trying to say a little more. And I think this gives. If a singer tries to find out what’s happening in life, it gives him a better insight on telling the story of the song he is trying to sing."

 'Ain't That Good News' peaked at number thirty-four on the US album chart.  It would be his final studio album released during his lifetime, as he died in a bizarre shooting incident at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California in December of 1964.  






http://songsofsamcooke.com/













"Ain't That Good News"  – 2:30







"Meet Me at Mary's Place"  – 2:44



"Good Times"  – 2:28




"Another Saturday Night"  – 2:42





"A Change Is Gonna Come"  – 3:13

Sam Cooke - A change is gonna come by hopto


I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ever since
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die
'Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me, "Don't hang around"
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say, "Brother, help me please"
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees

Oh there been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will











 'Ain't That Good News' 
full album:






All songs written by Sam Cooke, except where noted.

Side one
"Ain't That Good News"  – 2:30
"Meet Me at Mary's Place"  – 2:44
"Good Times"  – 2:28
"Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" (Sam Cooke, Beverly Prudhomme, Betty Prudhomme) – 2:34
"Another Saturday Night"  – 2:42
"Tennessee Waltz" (Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart) – 3:12
Side two
"A Change Is Gonna Come"  – 3:13
"Falling in Love" (Harold Battiste) – 2:45
"Home" (Jeff Clarkson, Harry Clarkson, Peter van Steeden) – 2:32
"Sittin' in the Sun" (Irving Berlin) – 3:18
"There'll Be No Second Time" (Clifton White) – 3:03
"The Riddle Song" (Traditional) – 2:30