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Sam Cooke - A Man And His Music ( 86, 70 min ^ 156mb)
"Sam was a singer's singer who strongly influenced many male vocalists of the '50s, '60s and '70s, who was loved, respected and revered by artists in the pop and gospel field of music, as well as by his audience, as a unique and extraordinairy artist and person" Aretha Franklin
Sam Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He added an "e" onto the end of his name because he thought it added a touch of class. He was one of seven children of Annie Mae and the Reverend Charles Cook, a Baptist minister. The family moved to Chicago in 1933. Cooke began his musical career as a member of a quartet with his siblings, The Singing Children, and, as a teenager, he was a member of the Highway QCs, a gospel group. In 1950, at the age of 19, he joined The Soul Stirrers and achieved significant success and fame within the gospel community. His first pop single, "Lovable" (1956), was released under the alias of "Dale Cooke" in order to not alienate his fan base; there was a considerable taboo against gospel singers performing secular music. However, the alias failed to hide Cooke's unique and distinctive vocals. No one was fooled.
In 1957, Cooke signed with Keen Records. His first release was "You Send Me", the B-side of his first Keen Single (the A-side was a reworking of George Gershwin's "Summertime".) which spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song also had massive mainstream success, spending three weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. In addition to his success in writing his own songs and achieving mainstream fame — a truly remarkable accomplishment for an R&B singer at that time — Cooke continued to astonish the music business in the 1960s with the founding of his own label, SAR Records, which soon included The Simms Twins, The Valentinos, Bobby Womack, and Johnnie Taylor. Subsequently Cooke created a publishing imprint and management firm, then left Keen to sign with RCA Victor.
One of his first RCA singles was the hit "Chain Gang. Like most R&B artists of his time, Cooke focused on singles; in all he had 29 top 40 hits on the pop charts, and more on the R&B charts. In spite of this, he released a well received blues-inflected LP in 1963, Night Beat, and his most critically-acclaimed studio album Ain't That Good News, which featured five singles, in 1964. He was known for having written many of the most popular songs of all time in the genre, and is often unaccredited for many of them by the general public .The drowning death of his infant son in mid-1963 had made it impossible for Cooke to work in the studio until the end of that year. During that time, however, with Allen Klein now managing his business affairs, Cooke did achieve the financial and creative independence that he'd wanted, including more money than any black performer had ever been advanced before, and the eventual ownership of his recordings beginning in November of 1963 -- he had achieved creative control of his recordings as well, and seemed poised for a breakthrough.
Cooke was keenly aware of the music around him, and was particularly entranced by Bob Dylan's song "Blowin' in the Wind," its treatment of the plight of black Americans and other politically oppressed minorities, he sang the song himself but more importantly he felt he should write an answere to it , which became "A Change Is Gonna Come," perhaps the greatest song to come out of the civil rights struggle, and one that seemed to close and seal the gap between the two directions of Cooke's career, from gospel to pop. It was an artistic apotheosis for Cooke, one that shook him too and he has only performed live once or twice...as shortly after he was murdered.
Cooke died at the age of 33 under mysterious circumstances on December 11, 1964, in Los Angeles, California. Though the details of the case are still in dispute, the official story was that he was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in South Los Angeles, who claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense. The verdict was justifiable homicide, though many believe that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward.
In her autobiography, Rage To Survive, singer Etta James claimed that she viewed Cooke's body in the funeral home and that the injuries she observed were well beyond what could be explained by the official account of Franklin alone having fought with Cooke. James described Cooke as having been so badly beaten that his head was nearly separated from his shoulders, his hands were broken and crushed, and his nose was mangled. What is known is that during an after party one Elisa Boyer dragged him off, they went to a motel and next thing Cooke knew she was off with his clothes-and money. When he came to the reception desk in an angry state dressed in his overcoat, the clerk felt threatened and shot him, meanwhile the later arrested for prostitution Boyer had phoned the police with a rape claim..to me it sounds as a rip off skam (which would include an unnamed male guard).. that went wrong, certainly for Cooke. And dare i say for the world, this obviously gifted and smart man could have beaten Obama to the White House..
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The Man and His Music is still the only comprehensive single-volume collection of the hits and highlights of Cooke's career from the mid-'50s to his last sides in 1964. What's more, it's out of print, and it is likely to be the last such compilation that we'll ever see, because in the years since its release, the ownership of Cooke's post-1963 sides (comprising his most advanced and ambitious soul recordings) shifted from RCA to ABKCO. The Man and His Music is the only Sam Cooke compilation that covers all of the major phases of his career, from his gospel work with the Soul Stirrers through all of the early pop hits and his move into soul music, culminating with his final classic soul sides.
01 - Touch The Hem Of His Garment (2:02)
02 - That's Heaven To Me (2:01)
03 - I'll Come Running Back To You (2:12)
04 - You Send Me (2:45)
05 - Win Your Love For Me (2:54)
06 - Just For You (2:21)
07 - Chain Gang (2:34)
08 - When A Boy Falls In Love (2:32)
09 - Only Sixteen (1:54)
10 - Wonderful World (2:05)
11 - Cupid (2:30)
12 - Nothing Can Change This Love (2:36)
13 - Rome Wasn't Built In A Day (2:29)
14 - Love Will Find A Way (2:15)
15 - Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha (2:37)
16 - Another Saturday Night (2:25)
17 - Meet Me At Mary's Place (2:41)
18 - Having A Party (2:27)
19 - Good Times (2:28)
20 - Twistin' The Night Away (2:40)
21 - Shake (2:49)
22 - Somebody Have Mercy (3:03)
23 - Sad Mood (2:29)
24 - Ain't That Good News (2:31)
25 - Bring It On Home To Me (2:42)
26 - Soothe Me (2:12)
27 - That's Where It's At (2:37)
28 - A Change Is Gonna Come (3:14)
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Smokey Robinson
Robinson was born and raised in Detroit, and when still a child was nicknamed "Smokey Joe" by an uncle because of his love of cowboy movies. In his teens, this was shortened to "Smokey". In 1955, Robinson founded a group he called the Five Chimes with his best friend Ronald White. By 1957, the group was called the Matadors and included cousins Emerson and Bobby Rogers. Later Emerson was replaced by his sister Claudette Rogers who later married Robinson, and guitarist Marv Tarplin joined the group in 1958. With Robinson as lead singer, the Matadors began touring the local Detroit venues. In 1958, Robinson met songwriter Berry Gordy, who co-wrote for them the single "Got a Job. The group renamed itself the Miracles, and issued singles on both End Records and Chess Records before Robinson suggested to Gordy that he start a label of his own. In 1959, Gordy founded Tamla Records, which he soon reincorporated as Motown. The Miracles were among the label's first signees. Gordy and Robinson had a synergistic relationship, with Robinson providing a foundation for Motown's hit-making success and Gordy acting as a mentor for the budding singer and songwriter. By 1961, Gordy had appointed Robinson vice-president of Motown Records, a title Robinson held for as long as Gordy remained with the company.
The 1960 single "Shop Around" was Motown's first number one hit on the R&B singles chart, and the first big hit for The Miracles.The song was also Motown's first million-selling hit single. They scored many more hits over the years. Besides penning hits for his own group, Robinson also wrote and produced hits and album tracks for other Motown artists. Mary Wells had a big hit with the Robinson-penned "My Guy" (1964), and Robinson served as The Temptations' primary songwriter and producer from 1963 to 1966. During the course of his 50-year career in music, Robinson has accumulated more than 4,000 songs to his credit. The Miracles remained a premier Motown act through most of the 1960s. Albums were released as "Smokey Robinson & the Miracles" after 1965. By 1969, the group's fortunes began to falter, and Robinson decided to quit The Miracles so that he could remain at home with his family and concentrate on his duties as vice president. With the surprise success of the 70 re release of "The Tears of a Clown", Robinson was convinced to remain with The Miracles for a few more years. In 1972, however, he followed through on his original plans to leave the group.
Smokey Robinson began a low-key solo career while concentrating on his duties as vice president of Motown, releasing his first solo LP, Smokey, in 1973. In 1975, Robinson's solo career went into full-drive after the success of the number one R&B hit "Baby That's Backatcha". Robinson's 1976 single "Quiet Storm" and its accompanying album typified a genre of smooth, slow R&B . During the mid-1980s, Robinson fell victim to cocaine addiction. His recording slowed, and his marriage to Claudette faltered; the two were divorced in 1986. With the help of friend Leon Kennedy, Robinson was dramatically healed of his addiction at a religious service. He eventually revitalized his career, scoring hits in 1987 with the Grammy Award-winning "Just To See Her" and "One Heartbeat". In 1988, Robinson published his autobiography, Smokey, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Upon Motown's sale to MCA in 1988, Robinson resigned from his position as vice president. After one last album for Motown, Love, Smokey (1990), Robinson departed the company. Eight years later, he returned to Motown, which by then was a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and released Intimate (1999). The same year, Robinson received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Going To A Go-Go (65 ^ 78mb)
Going To A Go-Go is the first album to bill the group as Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. It includes four of the Miracles' Top 20 hits: "Ooo Baby Baby", "The Tracks of My Tears", "Going to a Go-Go", and "My Girl Has Gone". Primarily produced by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson, Going to a Go-Go features compositions co-written by Miracles members Robinson, Ronald White, Bobby Rogers, Pete Moore, and Marv Tarplin. The album also features two important Miracles b-sides, "Choosey Beggar" and "A Fork in the Road". Going To A Go-Go was the only Miracles studio LP to chart within the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it peaked at number-eight.
01 - The Tracks Of My Tears (2:56)
02 - Going To A Go-Go (2:48)
03 - Ooo Baby Baby (2:47)
04 - My Girl Has Gone (2:53)
05 - In Case You Need Love (2:40)
06 - Choosey Beggar (2:35)
07 - Since You Won My Heart (2:18)
08 - From Head To Toe (2:26)
09 - All That's Good (3:15)
10 - My Baby Changes Like The Weather (2:49)
11 - Let Me Have Some (3:10)
12 - A Fork In The Road (3:28)
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Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Make It Happen (67 ^ 87mb)
Make It Happen is a 1967 album by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. It featured ballads such as the singles "The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage" and "More Love", as well as the up-tempo "The Tears of a Clown" co-written by Stevie Wonder and his producer Hank Cosby. Three years after the album's release, "The Tears of a Clown" was issued as a single, and charted at number-one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. As a result, Make It Happen was reissued as The Tears of a Clown in 1970.
01 - The Soulful Shack (2:45)
02 - The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage (2:58)
03 - My Love For You (2:37)
04 - I'm On The Outside (Looking In) (2:35)
05 - Don't Think It's Me (2:43)
06 - My Love Is Your Love (Forever) (2:19)
07 - More Love (2:45)
08 - After You Put Back The Pieces (I'll Still Have A Broken Heart) (2:38)
09 - It's A Good Feeling (3:09)
10 - You Must Be Love (2:31)
11 - Dancing's Alright (2:30)
12 - The Tears Of A Clown (2:59)
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