How are you doing out there? ... I said, how ARE, you DOING, out THERE patients. When the doctors and nursemaids here at the asylum need a grand dose of live soul we don't turn to the first James Brown Live at the Apollo record, Jackie Wilson Live at the Copa or even Otis Redding's Live In Europe. Indeed, all are great performances, but, our rock 'n roll stethoscopes listen to the real deal that is raw in emotion and gritty in delivery. That album is Sam Cooke's Live at the Harlem Square Club. That's right, when we are singin' the standards in the shower we like to acknowledge Sam Cooke as a primary influence. Patients, check all you know about Sam Cooke at the asylum door - this album is sure to blow yer minds and have you begging for mercy.Recorded in a, well over capacity, jam-packed Miami night club on Jan. 12, 1963 the Harlem Square performance captures Mr. Soul at his best, his sharpest. Flanked by King Kurtis and a cast of gritty players, Cooke delivers a hit of raw dangerous sexual electricity– the kind you contact high off of by just being in the room.
RCA executive Ray Geller stated, "They'd clearly been recorded with the idea of putting together a live album. But Cooke kept having hit after hit, and apparently the release of the Harlem Square material was put off in favor of studio albums spotlighting the hits. A year and a half after it was recorded, they taped 'Sam Cooke at the Copa' and decided to put that out instead. Then Cooke was murdered, in December 1964, and the Harlem Square tapes stayed in the can. Over the years, all the people at RCA who knew the tapes existed left the company. The material was easy to find when I went to work at RCA and started snooping around."
There are two versions of this performance on CD: One Night Stand: Sam Cooke At The Harlem Square Club was released in 2005, but fails to capture the room in the same way that the this recording does-the original 1985 release. Don't fight it patients, you wanna move and groove to this soul classic.
Sam Cooke – vocals
King Curtis – saxophone
Clifton White – guitar
Cornell Dupree – guitar
Jimmy Lewis – bass
Albert "June" Gardner – drums
Tate Houston – saxophone
George Stubbs – Piano
“Right now, ladies and gentlemen, we’d like to get ready to introduce the star of our show, the young man you’ve all been waiting for, Mister Soul, so what d’you say let’s all get together and welcome him to the stand with a great big hand, how ‘bout it for Sam Cooke.”
Take Up Thy Rock 'N Roll Stethoscope and Walk,
Enjoy these 9cc of Sam Cooke...
MP3: “Feel It” (Sam Cooke) – 3:46
MP3: “Chain Gang” (Cooke) – 3:11
MP3: “Cupid” (Cooke) – 2:46
MP3: “Medley: It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons” – 5:11
MP3: “Twistin' the Night Away” (Cooke) – 4:19
MP3: “Somebody Have Mercy” (Cooke) – 4:45
MP3: “Bring It On Home to Me” (Cooke) – 5:37
MP3: “Nothing Can Change This Love” (Cooke) – 3:45
MP3: “Having a Party” (Cooke) – 4:09
3 comments:
My favorite version of "Twistin the Night Away." Damn Sam -- you were hot
Plain and simple... this is a killer album.
Love Sam Cooke even my 15 yo daughter likes him.He has to be ranked as one of the most talented artists of the rock era.beautiful voice.
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