The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke

Original released on LP Keen 8-6106

(US, 1960)

Contrary to popular opinion, not everyone who walks into a recording studio is an accomplished singer with the ability to characterize his or her vocal stylings to fit the mood, song, or situation. A few of today's vocalists are deft in the art of expression... or enunciation... or the feeling of a mood. But few can combine the many talents and characteristics so necessary to becoming one of the top vocalists of the day... and even fewer can combine them well enough to "stay on the top" of the hit lists and in the minds of the record-buying public. Such, however, is not the case with Sam Cooke... for he is here to stay! Most avid fans know of Sam Cooke's meteoric rise to fame with his first Keen recording of "You Send Me"... a record that sold the world over into the millions. Few of Sam's newer fans, however, know of his early training and experience with groups of gospel and spiritual singers, among them the Soul Stirrers and the Pilgrim Travelers... an experience that, to a great extent, prepared Sam for the long, hard road to stardom and fame. It was not until Sam divorced himself from the Soul Stirrers that he began to sing in the popular vein. But in leaving - for the most part - the spiritual field of music, Sam kept one of the most important elements in spiritual singing and transferred it into his popular vocalizing... sincerity. It is this natural quality of expression that has helped to mold Sam Cooke's future in the field of popular music.

In this album, we find Sam combining the best of his talents on twelve selections that run the gamut of musical forms and styles... from the popular ballad and uptempo "top 40" type of song to the heartfelt spiritual and blues. Needless to say, "The Wonderful World of Sam Cooke" would not be complete without the inclusion of his popular hit record of "Wonderful World". Known to many popular music fans are such tunes as "Stealing Kisses", "Blue Moon", "You Were Made For Me", and "There I've Said It Again". From the movie screen and Broadway stage, such familiar songs as "Summertime" and "Almost In Your Arms" are re-introduced by Sam in his inimitable style. And, from the nation's radios, you have undoubtedly heard one of Sam's newer recordings of "With You". In the spiritual vein, Sam renders beautifully the selections "I Thank God" and "That's Heaven to Me". Between the grooves of "Wonderful World" and the closing selection of "I Thank God", Sam winds through the musical bypaths that go to make up his own wonderful world, singing his way through ten selections that are bound to please the most discriminating. This, then, is the "Wonderful World of Sam Cooke"... one of America's great vocal talents. Many pleasant hours may be spent travelling through Sam's world and we trust that your musical palate will dictate an unlimited number of revisitations with Sam on his musical journey. (original liner notes)