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

you send me

Sam Cooke thrilled us with his first single and became a pop star with his own brand of gospel soul.  He had started out singing gospel with various groups on Specialty Records until he tried to break out into pop music with 'Wonderful' under the alias Dale Cook to avoid alienating his gospel fans.  Cooke and his producer Bumps Blackwell left Specialty Records after an argument with the label chief Art Rupe over the type of music they were making.  He signed with Keen Records and recorded his own song 'You Send Me' in Los Angeles with instrumentation by Rene Hall who did the arrangement and played rhythm guitar, Ted Brinson on bass, Earl Palmer on drums, and Cliff White on guitar.  'You Send Me' was originally the B-side with a cover of Gerswin's 'Summertime' as the A-side.  Radio DJ's preferred the B-side and it became a national hit, going to number one on R&B chart and outselling the version that had been released by Teresa Brewer on the pop chart to become a crossover hit, spending three weeks at number one.  







Darling you send me
I know you send me
Darling you send me
Honest you do, honest you do
Honest you do, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

You thrill me
I know you, you, you thrill me
Darling you, you, you, you thrill me
Honest you do

At first I thought it was infatuation
But woo, it's lasted so long
Now I find myself wanting
To marry you and take you home
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

You, you, you, you send me
I know you send me
I know you send me
Honest you do

Whoa-oh-oh, whenever I'm with you
I know, I know, I know when I'm near you
Mmm hmm, mmm hmm, honest you do, honest you do
Whoa-oh-oh, I know-oh-oh-oh

I know, I know, I know, when you hold me
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, whenever you kiss me
Mmm hmm, mmm hmm, honest you do

At first I thought it was infatuation
But woo, it's lasted so long
Now I find myself wanting
To marry you and take you home

I know, I know, I know, you send me
I know you send me
Whoa-oh-oh-oh, you you you you send me
Honest you do