{"id":113122,"date":"2026-01-22T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=113122"},"modified":"2026-01-21T08:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T13:30:33","slug":"happy-birthday-to-the-great-sam-cooke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=113122","title":{"rendered":"“Voices ought not be measured by how pretty they are. Instead they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.\u201d — Sam Cooke"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

\nIt’s his birthday today. <\/p>\n

I highly recommend Peter Guralnick’s thoughtful and informative biography of Sam Cooke, Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke<\/a>\"\"<\/i>, which gives a good sense of the revolution of his career. Moving from gospel, where he made his name with the Soul Stirrers, into secular music, where he had a tremendous gift for writing memorable catchy tunes (understatement). The number of classic songs he wrote is extraordinary (especially since he died at so young an age.) He was also a pioneer in the realm of producing. He did not want to be an employee of anyone. Very early on, he made his moves towards financial independence. He created a studio and set himself up, producing others’ music took up even more of his time and devotion than his own stunning career. He created a space for fellow black artists to do things on their own terms. What a loss. He died just as the civil rights movement was heating up. His life was cut short (through his own reckless behavior, it’s got to be said), but the loss to the culture is incalculable. However: he made very very good use of his time while he was here. <\/p>\n

More after the jump. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\n 
\n <\/p>\n

I love his gospel stuff with the Soul Stirrers.<\/p>\n

\n