#36 Sam Cooke

I’ve often said that if I could head back in time and see one performance, it would be the evening that Cooke recorded Live at the Harlem Square Club. In terms of live recordings, this is up there with Springsteen at Hammersmith and Dylan in 1966. The version of "Bring It On Home To Me" is about as good as a live recording as you'll ever hear. To my ears, I think Cooke is the greatest singer to have ever lived. He seemed to sing so effortlessly, but the delivery was damn-near religious. The kind of sound that erases everything around you and finds you locked in to nothing but the jaw-dropping delivery.

Like many of the greats, Cooke left us too early, but his songs will carry on for generations to come.

Favorite record: Night Beat (1963)


Where are they now? Cooke was killed in 1964 at the age of 33.

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