- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Virgin Books (4 Aug 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0753540029
- ISBN-13: 978-0753540022
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.2 x 3.4 cm
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
107,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #15 in Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Soul
- #28 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Soul & Gospel
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Product Description
Book Description
Reissue of the award-winning biography of the man who invented soul music
Product Description
When Sam Cooke was shot dead in a cheap motel in Hollywood, he was one of America's most successful pop stars. He left a world in which he had been born poor and had become very rich from the success of such records as "You Send Me" and "A Wonderful World", yet his body lay unrecognised in a morgue for two days. This biography follows Cooke's life in a racist America where his voice was one of the first to reach beyond the segregated audiences and command a white following, Cooke himself becoming a player in the fledgling civil rights movement. This award-winning biography is a full and sometimes shocking story of a man whose songbook is revered by great performers such as Otis Redding, Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin.
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26 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Invaluable resource to the musician fan of Sam
2 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
There are a couple of reviews included here that criticize Wolff's (et al) biography of Sam Cooke. However, I couldn't have been more pleased with it!
As a musician/songwriter/singer, myself, "You Send Me" provided exactly the type of information I wanted to learn about my beloved Sam: how he composed, recorded, released and performed his music. I also enjoyed learning about Sam's background in Clarksdale and Chicago as well as the exhaustive research regarding his time with the QCs and the inimitable Soul Stirrers. My favorite aspect of "You Send Me" is the detail regarding the recording of each song -- Wolff described the musicians on the session, the producers, arrangers and record company personnel - how many takes - how they achieved some of the interesting sounds, etc. But, reading the line-by-line synopsis of "A Change Is Gonna Come" is what really knocked me out. For the first time, I realized that in the first line of the song ("I was born by the river in a little tent"), Sam was referring to being saved in his father's Holiness revival tents down by the river - the line finally made sense to me, after all these years. It took me a good hour to finish those 2 pages - my favorite Sam Cooke song -- I wanted to savor every word.
The info provided by Crain, White, Tenenbaum and Sam's former bandmates and label folks is fascinating. Sam's relationship with Barbara, Dee Dee, his children and the other women in his life is his business. I didn't want to delve into Sam's ultra personal life, I wanted to delve into Sam's musical genius and hear a few stories about his gigs, writing, recording and business practices. I wanted to remain a respectful distance away from his family and personal life. Maybe I'm just a true musical fan of his and not a bio reader. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed "You Send Me".
I'd like to thank Mr. Wolff for dedicating a large portion of his career to bringing our Sam back to life for us. Sadly, I have not yet finished the book -- I'm about a dozen pages before Sam dies -- I can't bring myself to read it just yet -- it's too painful. I feel if I linger in early 1964 for a while, I can keep Sam alive a little bit longer...
Lysa Parker
Singer & Songwriter ...
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Sent Me There!
5 Feb 2005
Format:Hardcover
This was a well researched and written book. I enjoyed it because it was packed full of history on music industry, the Civil Rights Era and The Man (Sam Cooke). This book sent me there. It was so descriptive, that I felt like I was actually there viewing the events as they unfolded.
I am a Sam Cooke fan, but I did not know much about him. This book provided me with an in-depth look at the man from a personal and professional standpoint. His life was not picture perfect and his death is still surrounded by too much mystery. I appreciate the author revealing such sensitive info and in such a way that it did not tarnish my image of the singer.
This man's life had all the makings for a movie. The book left me not wanting for anything. I walked away full...no questions pending.
I am a Sam Cooke fan, but I did not know much about him. This book provided me with an in-depth look at the man from a personal and professional standpoint. His life was not picture perfect and his death is still surrounded by too much mystery. I appreciate the author revealing such sensitive info and in such a way that it did not tarnish my image of the singer.
This man's life had all the makings for a movie. The book left me not wanting for anything. I walked away full...no questions pending.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Bringing It On Home
11 Oct 2003
Format:Paperback
When I first read this book,I was so entranced that I stayed up all night reading.Sam Cooke had long been my musical idol and many stories about him are a) sketchy or ;b)center around the bizarre circumstances surrounding his death.
Granted this book doesn't answer many questions about his cause of death,but it does open up alot of things about his life.It showed a human side to the man behind the voice(fathering many illegitimate children,his shrewed business instincts,the death of his son Vincent,and the heavy drinking before his own death),as well as a detailed account about the genisis of his greatest songs(guitarist Cliff White thought You Send Me was repetitive during the sessions for the song,Wonderful World was a demo which was rushed released by his former record label to cash-in on his RCA success,and A Change Is Gonna Come was inspired by Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind).
You Send Me, like the now deleted Man and His Music CD are essential to any Sam Cooke fan,especially when many of todays music stars could never hold a candle to this talent.
Granted this book doesn't answer many questions about his cause of death,but it does open up alot of things about his life.It showed a human side to the man behind the voice(fathering many illegitimate children,his shrewed business instincts,the death of his son Vincent,and the heavy drinking before his own death),as well as a detailed account about the genisis of his greatest songs(guitarist Cliff White thought You Send Me was repetitive during the sessions for the song,Wonderful World was a demo which was rushed released by his former record label to cash-in on his RCA success,and A Change Is Gonna Come was inspired by Dylan's Blowin' In The Wind).
You Send Me, like the now deleted Man and His Music CD are essential to any Sam Cooke fan,especially when many of todays music stars could never hold a candle to this talent.
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