Has anyone informed you yet that Sam Cooke was the man?
Because he was.
4
comments:
Anonymous
said...
Sam Cooke was a pioneer in the music industry who wasn't afraid to boldly go where no man had gone before. He was the first artist to refuse to sing to segregated audiences, the first black recording artist to form a successful record label, and one of the first artists, black or white, to demand ownership of his publishing rights. He was a singer, producer, arranger, and composer of not just his own music, but artists on his record label. Sam Cooke wrote most of his major hits. On top of all that, he possessed a truly dynamic personality, always looking out for those who had less.
Sam Cooke WAS the man, and it's more than just me saying it. Listen to the effect he had on friends and artists who worked with him more than 40 years ago--his memory is still with them today.
I just returned from the 5th Annual Sam Cooke Fan Club Tribute which was held in Memphis, TN this year. Part of the festivities included a trip to his birthplace of Clarksdale, MS, where the locals killed us with kindness and unveiled a plaque in his honor.
Sam Cooke's body was taken from us, but his spirit lives on.
Erik Greene Author, "Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective" www.OurUncleSam.com
Was and remain a Sam Cooke fan ("...had to be there...", so to speak), but while the artfulness and voice are a thing to behold and enjoy, the man's behavior, decline, and collapse are quite another. I cannot favor THAT man.
Therein is a problem for which I see no solution and that I find to be repetitively insoluble whenever we attempt to discuss artists. We apply 'person' to the subject of the discussion, rather than the [music], when the only thing that represents true person is the behavior...our behavior.
I should like to find a way around it for it confounds meanings when two persons of differing tastes attempt to find common ground.
Meanwhile, it remains fair ground, it seems to me, to attempt to comprehend how art is one thing while the person who represents that art is quite another worthy subject (and therein rests the problem: we always talk about "create" as if we are to forget that art is a representation (of mind, of skill, of idea, of motive, of vision, and so forth) without reference to [representational] integrity.
Wow, I had no idea my one-liner about Sam Cook, inspired by repeated playing of the seven or so songs of his I have, and fueled by a not insignificant amount of Grey Goose, would result in such interesting commentary.
@Erik Greene: Thanks for the comment. I have no idea how you found my humble blog.
@duct tape: You make a good point, and it's something I often think about when I like music by a person whom I do not - unfortunately the music categorically wins out.
Perhaps it's an artist/person dichotomy moreso than a music/person one.
If you believe the "official version" of how Sam met his end, then yes, I could see how you could have your reservations. But the fact is, Sam died not in shame, but just the opposite. He died holding on to what he had built and what he believed in. He died because he refused to give in to external forces. The "official version" of his death is a complete farce.
I wrote my book to set the record straight and to expose a lot of what was going on "behind the scenes" in his life.
For example, is it ever talked about how badly Sam had been beaten before? No 55 year old woman could've inflicted the abuse he suffered. He had multiple cuts, bruises and lumps on his head and face. His head was almost detached from his body. Both of his hands were broken, meaning he fought back in self-defense. Anyone who had been to one of his funerals can attest to how badly mangled his hands were.
Sam wasn't an angel, and I don't portray him as such. However, the good he did in life far outweighed the bad--for family members, friends, and other artists.
I don't blame you for passing judgement on his life from the information you've been fed. But realize there is a very different side of the Sam Cooke saga that, until now, has never been brought to light.
4 comments:
Sam Cooke was a pioneer in the music industry who wasn't afraid to boldly go where no man had gone before. He was the first artist to refuse to sing to segregated audiences, the first black recording artist to form a successful record label, and one of the first artists, black or white, to demand ownership of his publishing rights. He was a singer, producer, arranger, and composer of not just his own music, but artists on his record label. Sam Cooke wrote most of his major hits. On top of all that, he possessed a truly dynamic personality, always looking out for those who had less.
Sam Cooke WAS the man, and it's more than just me saying it. Listen to the effect he had on friends and artists who worked with him more than 40 years ago--his memory is still with them today.
I just returned from the 5th Annual Sam Cooke Fan Club Tribute which was held in Memphis, TN this year. Part of the festivities included a trip to his birthplace of Clarksdale, MS, where the locals killed us with kindness and unveiled a plaque in his honor.
Sam Cooke's body was taken from us, but his spirit lives on.
Erik Greene
Author, "Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective"
www.OurUncleSam.com
Was and remain a Sam Cooke fan ("...had to be there...", so to speak), but while the artfulness and voice are a thing to behold and enjoy, the man's behavior, decline, and collapse are quite another. I cannot favor THAT man.
Therein is a problem for which I see no solution and that I find to be repetitively insoluble whenever we attempt to discuss artists. We apply 'person' to the subject of the discussion, rather than the [music], when the only thing that represents true person is the behavior...our behavior.
I should like to find a way around it for it confounds meanings when two persons of differing tastes attempt to find common ground.
Meanwhile, it remains fair ground, it seems to me, to attempt to comprehend how art is one thing while the person who represents that art is quite another worthy subject (and therein rests the problem: we always talk about "create" as if we are to forget that art is a representation (of mind, of skill, of idea, of motive, of vision, and so forth) without reference to [representational] integrity.
Solve it if you can.
Wow, I had no idea my one-liner about Sam Cook, inspired by repeated playing of the seven or so songs of his I have, and fueled by a not insignificant amount of Grey Goose, would result in such interesting commentary.
@Erik Greene: Thanks for the comment. I have no idea how you found my humble blog.
@duct tape: You make a good point, and it's something I often think about when I like music by a person whom I do not - unfortunately the music categorically wins out.
Perhaps it's an artist/person dichotomy moreso than a music/person one.
To both Chez and Duct Tape:
If you believe the "official version" of how Sam met his end, then yes, I could see how you could have your reservations. But the fact is, Sam died not in shame, but just the opposite. He died holding on to what he had built and what he believed in. He died because he refused to give in to external forces. The "official version" of his death is a complete farce.
I wrote my book to set the record straight and to expose a lot of what was going on "behind the scenes" in his life.
For example, is it ever talked about how badly Sam had been beaten before? No 55 year old woman could've inflicted the abuse he suffered. He had multiple cuts, bruises and lumps on his head and face. His head was almost detached from his body. Both of his hands were broken, meaning he fought back in self-defense. Anyone who had been to one of his funerals can attest to how badly mangled his hands were.
Sam wasn't an angel, and I don't portray him as such. However, the good he did in life far outweighed the bad--for family members, friends, and other artists.
I don't blame you for passing judgement on his life from the information you've been fed. But realize there is a very different side of the Sam Cooke saga that, until now, has never been brought to light.
Erik
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