You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke

Rating:
Summary: God-given talent but all too human
Review: I didn't know Sam Cooke beyond a few of his old hits (I was born in 1971) but picked up this book on the advice of a friend. 'You Send Me' is a fascinating study of the man and his music.

There is stuff in there for everyone... his religious roots... early fame at the helm of the most famous gospel group of his day... the illegitimate children... his tragic marriages... his relationships with Aretha, Lou Rawls and Muhammed Ali... his refusal to play to segregated audiences, blazing the way for integration across the South... spirited, behind-the-scenes stories of his recordings and live performances... his everlasting love of soul and gospel music and how he founded his own label to showcase otherwise overlooked talents. And, of course, his controversial death in a cheap motel and subsequent investigations.

'You Send Me' is a wonderful picture, as well, of the South at the turn of the 20th century, Depression-era Chicago and a teenage America finding a common love of rock and roll.

In the end, the reader is left with a satisfying read as well as a sense of tragedy over a life so filled with potential cut so short by misadventure (he was not yet 34 when he died). I almost cringe to draw this comparison, but like Princess Diana, another charismatic celebrity, Sam Cooke is beloved because despite the glamour, he was altogether too human.

This book stands up to repeated readings. Then, listen to his music. You will smile, because Daniel Wolff will have taken you there.

Rating:
Summary: Moved Me
Review: Sam Cooke have paved the way for other artists.Sam didn't do it alone and that's the beauty of this book,because it focus on Sam Cooke's life but also recognize other artists in that era as well. I love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Bringing It On Home
Review: 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.