Date: 4-22-01
PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1818 - SAM COOKE
By CYNTHIA E. KIRK(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
I'M SHIRLEY GRIFFITH.
VOICE TWO:
AND I'M RAY FREEMAN WITH THE VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM,
PEOPLE IN AMERICA. EVERY WEEK WE TELL ABOUT SOMEONE IMPORTANT IN
THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. THIS WEEK WE TELL ABOUT BLACK
SINGER AND SONGWRITER, SAM COOKE.
((CUT ONE: YOU SEND ME ))
VOICE ONE:
IT HAS BEEN YEARS SINCE THAT SONG WAS A HIT. YET IT
IS STILL POPULAR TODAY. THE SONG IS CALLED "YOU SEND ME."IT
WAS WRITTEN AND SUNG BY A YOUNG SINGER AND SONGWRITER, SAM COOKE.
DURING THE LATE NINETEEN-FIFTIES AND EARLY SIXTIES, SAM COOKE WAS
ONE OF THE BIGGEST STARS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY. HIS SMOOTH VOICE
AND MUSICAL STYLE WERE POPULAR WITH BOTH BLACKS AND WHITES.
ALTHOUGH SAM COOKE DIED YEARS AGO, HIS INFLUENCE
STILL IS PRESENT IN TODAY'S MUSIC.
VOICE TWO:
SAM COOKE WAS BORN IN CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, IN
NINETEEN-THIRTY-ONE. HE GREW UP IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. HIS
FATHER WAS A MINISTER IN A BAPTIST CHURCH. SAM STARTED SINGING
RELIGIOUS MUSIC WHEN HE WAS ONLY FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. WHEN HE WAS
NINETEEN, HE BECAME THE LEAD SINGER OF A FAMOUS GOSPEL SINGING
GROUP CALLED THE SOUL STIRRERS.
IN NINETEEN-FIFTY, HE BEGAN WRITING AND RECORDING FOR THE SOUL
STIRRERS. DURING HIS SIX YEARS WITH THE GROUP, COOKE BROUGHT HIS
OWN KIND OF EXPRESSION TO GOSPEL MUSIC. HE BECAME GOSPEL MUSIC'S
BIGGEST STAR.
HIS GOOD LOOKS AND SINGING ABILITIES MADE HIM VERY POPULAR AMONG
WOMEN, BOTH YOUNG AND OLD. HERE IS SAM COOKE WITH THE SOUL
STIRRERS, SINGING, "TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT".
((CUT TWO: TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT)
VOICE ONE:
ALTHOUGH SAM COOKE WAS A STAR WITH THE SOUL STIRRERS, HE WANTED
TO SING OTHER KINDS OF MUSIC. SO, HE DECIDED TO SING POPULAR
MUSIC INSTEAD.
COOKE'S DECISION TO "CROSS OVER" TO POP MUSIC SHOCKED MANY
BLACKS. THAT WAS BECAUSE MAKING SUCH A CHANGE WAS NOT AS EASY
THEN AS IT IS TODAY. RACIAL TENSIONS WERE HIGH BETWEEN BLACKS
AND WHITES IN THE NINETEEN FIFTIES. AND GOSPEL MUSIC WAS POPULAR
AMONG BLACK PEOPLE. IT WAS CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT PART OF BLACK
CULTURE.
THE COMPANY THAT RECORDED THE SOUL STIRRERS' RECORDS URGED HIM
NOT TO START SINGING POP MUSIC. THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD OFFEND THE
GROUP'S FANS.
VOICE TWO:
COOKE, HOWEVER, WANTED TO SING TO ALL GROUPS OF PEOPLE. HE
WANTED TO EXPRESS HIS RACIAL IDENTITY WITHOUT OFFENDING WHITES.
AT THAT TIME, MOST RECORDS BY BLACK ARTISTS WERE NOT PLAYED ON
RADIO STATIONS THAT HAD WHITE LISTENERS. SO, HE LEFT THE GOSPEL
MUSIC WORLD WHERE HE WAS EXTREMELY POPULAR WITH BLACKS. BUT THE
MOVE WAS NOT A MISTAKE. HE SOON BECAME A BIG STAR SINGING POP
MUSIC.
SAM COOKE'S FIRST POP RECORD WAS RELEASED BY A SMALL COMPANY,
KEEN, IN NINETEEN-FIFTY-SEVEN. IT WAS "YOU SEND ME." IT WAS A
HUGE SUCCESS. IT SOLD ONE-MILLION-SEVEN-HUNDRED-THOUSAND COPIES
IN THE FIRST YEAR ALONE. IT IS ONE OF HIS MOST MEMORABLE
RECORDINGS. HERE IS THE FIRST VERSION HE RECORDED OF THAT SONG.
IT WAS MADE TO SHOW COOKE'S ABILITY TO SING.
((CUT THREE: YOU SEND ME DEMO:UP AND UNDER))
VOICE ONE:
SAM COOKE HAD A VOICE THAT WAS UNLIKE ANY THE PUBLIC HAD EVER
HEARD. HIS VOICE WAS SOFT, YET INTENSE. HE MADE SINGING SEEM
EFFORTLESS.
COOKE WAS ALSO A WISE BUSINESSMAN. IN NINETEEN-FIFTY-NINE, HE
BECAME THE FIRST BLACK ARTIST TO ESTABLISH HIS OWN RECORD
COMPANY, S-A-R RECORDS. HE WROTE MOST OF HIS OWN MATERIAL. AND,
HE OWNED THE RIGHTS TO HIS SONGS THROUGH HIS MUSIC PUBLISHING
COMPANY, KAGS MUSIC. VERY FEW BLACKS AT THAT TIME WERE ABLE TO
CONTROL THEIR MUSICAL PROFESSION IN SUCH A WAY. AND, WITHOUT
SUCH BUSINESS CONTROL, THEY LOST MONEY.
HERE IS ANOTHER HIT BY SAM COOKE, WHEN HE WAS WITH THE KEEN
RECORD COMPANY, CALLED "WONDERFUL WORLD."
((CUT FOUR: WONDERFUL WORLD))
VOICE TWO:
IN NINETEEN-SIXTY, SAM COOKE SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH A MAJOR
RECORD COMPANY, R-C-A. SUCH A MOVE IS COMMON TODAY. BUT, A MOVE
FROM AN INDEPENDENT BLACK-OWNED RECORD COMPANY TO A MAJOR RECORD COMPANY WAS SOMETHING FEW BLACK ARTISTS WERE ABLE TO DO THEN.
COOKE HAD A NUMBER OF BIG HITS AT R-C-A. IN THIS SONG, SAM COOKE
USES A "CALL AND ANSWER" FORM OF MUSICAL EXPRESSION THAT STARTED
IN THE BLACK CHURCH. THE SONG IS CALLED, "BRING IT ON HOME TO
ME."
((CUT FIVE: BRING IT ON HOME TO ME))
VOICE TWO (CONT):
IN NINETEEN-SIXTY-TWO, SAM COOKE RECORDED A SONG FOR R-C-A ABOUT
A POPULAR NEW DANCE STEP, THE TWIST. THE SONG IS CALLED
"TWISTIN' THE NIGHT AWAY."
((CUT SIX: TWISTIN' THE NIGHT AWAY))
VOICE ONE:
IN DECEMBER NINETEEN-SIXTY-FOUR, SAM COOKE'S LIFE WAS SUDDENLY
CUT SHORT. HE WAS SHOT AND KILLED AT A HOTEL DURING A VISIT TO
LOS ANGELES. HE WAS THIRTY-THREE YEARS OLD.
HIS DEATH SHOCKED HIS FANS. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE GATHERED AT HIS
FUNERAL.
TWO OF COOKE'S LAST SONGS WERE RELEASED AFTER HE DIED. ONE OF
THE SONGS IS CALLED "A CHANGE IS GONNA COME." IT IS A POWERFUL
SONG THAT COMBINES GOSPEL AND POP MUSIC. THE SONG IS LIKE MANY
OF SAM COOKE'S THAT MADE HIM SO POPULAR AS A SINGER AND
SONGWRITER. IT IS ABOUT NEVER LOSING HOPE.
(CUT SEVEN: A CHANGE IS GONNA COME)
VOICE TWO:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY CYNTHIA KIRK. IT WAS
PRODUCED BY LAWAN DAVIS. I'M RAY FREEMAN.
VOICE ONE:
AND I'M SHIRLEY GRIFFITH. JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER
PEOPLE IN AMERICAN PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA.
Source: www.voa.gov/special/