Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
First let me say this is not for everyone. An extremely thick book (from memory about 800 pages) on a subject who hardly seems known at all except through the Obama election campaign. Sam Cooke? Even to me, a musician and lover of Stax Records and early rock 'n' roll, the name conjured only dim recollections: of 'You Send Me' in a TV icecream advertisement when I was young, of 'Beautiful World' ('Don't know much about history...') in the film Animal House with John Belushi, of Otis Redding's version of 'A Change is Gonna Come'. That is, until in 2008 at age 35 (35 years without Sam Cooke!) I downloaded the Portrait of a Legend compilation and everything changed...Whoa there was a woman in the Bible daysShe had been sick, sick so very long...Sam was a gospel singer. His father was a preacher, and at an early age Sam was out on the road preaching/singing with his brothers. He was a phenomenon, like a small-scale Michael Jackson, and by his mid-teens women really did reach to touch the hem of his garment as in the song Sam wrote and sang with the Soul Stirrers in 1959:When she touched him the Saviour didn't seeBut still he turned around and cried 'Somebody touched me!'She said it was I who just wanna touch the hem of your garment I know I'll be made whole right nowThe story Peter Guralnick tells is that the Soul Stirrers were on their way to a recording session when they realised Sam didn't have a song for them. 'OK OK,' Sam says, 'give me the Bible.' His finger falls on the relevant passage and the song is written. This song is golden. It has wings, like so many of Sam's simple, romantic almost-nursery rhymes. Guralnick writes with the passion of a true fan about everything he can unearth concerning the writing and the recording of these little masterpieces. That he also goes into much detail about Sam's personal life is of less interest to me, but that he manages to place Sam convincingly and enlighteningly in the context of the gospel music and rock 'n' roll of the 1950s, the soul of the 60s and the Civil Rights movement is much more so. Strange, that these days Sam Cooke must almost inevitably be viewed through the reverse prism of history, which amplifies virtually his last recording, 'A Change is Gonna Come', to the point where it drowns out the rest of his life and career, and refracts it from this new perspective of 'protest singer'.Was Sam Cooke a protest singer? He was whatever seemed to fly. First gospel singer, then when he saw the bucks were bigger in pop he jumped the fence, releasing 'You Send Me' (his biggest hit for years after) with his brother's name in the writing credit so as not to be snared by his old publishing commitments. With his older mentor and fellow former-gospel singer J.W. Alexander he began his own recording and publishing companies, releasing records by various groups and side-projects both pop and spiritual including the Womack Brothers' 'It's All Over Now' (covered by the young Rolling Stones). He experimented. Sometimes he was out-and-out silly ('Twistin' the Night Away') but even then he was soulful. Yeah, when Bob Dylan came along Sam was humbled. He realised that this little white guy had come out of nowhere singing 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'Times They Are A Changin' whereas he, Sam Cooke, with a billboard in Times Square and the 2nd biggest seller at EMI after Elvis, couldn't get past the guy-and-girl songs. But then by that time he had had to take a stand on so many things - coming up from near-total segregation on tours in the deep south as a child through big tours that still couldn't get served at most roadhouses to segregated stadiums in Memphis as a popstar. Did he have to take a stand in his music now as well? Until his death he wondered about the wisdom of releasing his now most-famous song.And his death? Guralnick investigates this, like everything else, thoroughly. For me it is not important, though the scenario - the prostitute, the cheap motel - was certainly not out of keeping with the rest of Sam's often lonely, sad life. (Sam Cooke was shot by the landlady of an L.A. motel when he ran out of his room without his pants chasing a hooker who had evidently stolen his stuff while he was in the shower.) Guralnick's other great achievement - the 2-part 1500-page biography of Elvis Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love - is also a sad, sad tale. It is probably that other opus that is the greater achievement, not just for its size but because we sense that Elvis is the author's first love. But we all know so much about Elvis. Yes, Sam was a businessman, but he lived for the moment, and when he died his legacy was left in disarray, and his legend faded. Guralnick resurrects him. (The excellent Portrait of a Legend was compiled by Guralnick, as was the TV show, which I haven't seen, entitled Sam Cooke: Legend.)At the end of Portrait of a Legend Guralnick includes a short track entitled '8 Bars of Soul', an excerpt from an interview by a then-prominent black disc jockey in which the DJ asks Sam to 'hum 8 bars of what soul represents'. And Sam lets loose, but quietly, and his melody, though mundane enough at first, seems at some point to cross into some otherworldly mode, a place beyond culture, beyond gender, beyond time, before resolving on the Major tonic that now sounds as if foreign. And the DJ says, 'Sam Cooke's yours. He'll never grow old.'
Sam possesses one of my all time favorite voices. There was just a pureness and clean smooth delivery with the lines he sang and the emotion he brought to each lyric. To me it seems like he never made a bad choice with every note he sang and the way he chose to phrase it. I am a huge fan, so when my friend bought me this book I was really interested to learn more about him.I started reading this book a couple of years ago and had a hard time getting into it. At times it feels like an encyclopedia. The names, dates, times, read heavily on the pages, making the act of reading sometimes burdensome. So, about 100 pages in on my first attempt I just stopped reading. I was suffocating under the weight of the names of all of the gospel groups, the tour managers, promoters, girlfriends, the names of the people whose houses they stayed at. I like to enjoy my reading and this was not an enjoyable book for me.This year, after really starting to appreciate Sam more, I decided to try again. I was determined to finish it or at least get to the part where he broke away from gospel and went pop. It was a little easier this time, but it was never a completely smooth read. Sam, was undeniably a charismatic and extremely interesting individual with an equally interesting life. The book does an excellent job of creating a clear picture of the people, time and environment that he existed in. There are nice guest appearances by Hendrix, Jackie Wilson, Little Richard, Gladys Knight, and basically anyone that was on the scene at that time. I feel like I can't be mad that a biography has too many facts and historical details. I mean that is much better than being too sparse but it does feel like you are reading a history book. So if you are looking for a page turner this is not for you. If you are looking for a richly detailed, historical recounting of a interesting man and the time that he inhabited then you should give it a try.
What do You think about Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke (2006)?
It's awfully long, but for a book this thoroughly researched and detailed, surprisingly readable. It's not dry and boring, at least not for the most part. It's easy to get lost in the maze of managers, promoters, distributors, agents, producers, musicians, bandleaders, etc. covered in the book. (One thing I found confusing: J.W. Alexander is a prominent figure. Sometimes he's referred to as Alexander. Sometimes as J.W. Sometimes as Alex.) Also, I was surprised that Guralnick didn't spend more time exploring the various conspiracy theories and irregularities surrounding Cooke's death. For a book so thorough, he basically acknowledges that some people have alternate theories, and then moves on. But for a comprehensive and readable handling of one of the most intriguing figures in soul music. It just might be more comprehensive that some are looking for.
—Willie Krischke
Mostly I just skipped around to the stuff I wanted to know about--didn't really read it all straight through. Love Sam Cooke's music, especially "A Change is Gonna Come" and "Twisting the Night Away." He had a wonderful voice and sense of style. Too bad he couldn't keep his personal life under control or he might have gone on to do even greater things. Didn't know that he was RCA's 2nd biggest seller after Elvis. Never heard the details of how he died either--just a waste of a great talent. So many entertainers go down a dark path that it's become cliché. I've read Peter Guralnick's two-volume bio. of Elvis and his treatment of Sam Cooke is just as polished and intriguing. Can't wait for his upcoming bio of Sam Phillips!
—Sara
I knew the tragic ending was coming but I was still stunned and saddened when it came. Cooke accomplished so much both as a musician and as a businessman and community leader before his death in a pointless and avoidable nightmare. He had just finished some of his best work and was boldly charting new directions -- his plans included an album of hard core blues and an album of ragtime era pop songs by black composers. He also had his finger in the wind and his ear to the ground: he was close to Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, was planning a benefit for MLK; he modeled "Shake" on Sly Stone's very first production, "A Change Is Gonna Come" was his response to Bob Dylan, he was watching the Beatles, Stones and Animals closely and pushing the Valentinos/Womack Brothers to carve out a niche as a guitar-driven black combo. All that makes his death so much more awful and heart-breaking. His own personal failings and tragedies -- a string of losing paternity suits had left him a customer of high-end prostitutes; the death of his son was the final straw alienating he and his long-suffering wife; his refusal to ever back down from a confrontation and sense of immortality & invulnerability because he was Sam Cooke; are all well established by Guralnick long in advance of the final tragedy. Cooke's end involved a drunken encounter with a hooker who specialized in rolling johns, and an avoidable brawl with a no-nonsense hotel manager with a gun who panicked when a semi-nude Cooke smashed down her office door and attacked her...made me think of the death of Orpheus. Learned about a lot of great music here too: the pre and post-Cooke Soul Stirrers, the Valentinos, the Five Blind Boys, Jesse Blevin, L.C. Cooke and much more on contemporaries and predecessors like Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Little Willie John, Lloyd Price and Ray Charles. Plus tons of stuff about music biz associates like Herb Alpert and Lou Adler, Allen Klein, Bumps Blackwell, Specialty Records, and a great account of an LA party where the band was Sam, Johnny Rivers, Phil Everly and Jerry Allison of the Crickets.
—Nate
