Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964

Sam Cooke is one of two kings of music; the other being Otis Redding. These are two singers for which nobody has ever been able to top and never will. Musical legends of the highest caliber.

One cannot describe how beautiful and timeless the melodies are in Cooke's songs and the purity and sweetness of his voice. Be warned: once you listen to this CD, you'll never be able to put it down. Don't say I didn't tell you so.

If you're a Sam Cooke fan this CD definitely belongs in your collection. It mostly has his popular hits in it, but there are a couple of his gospel songs. An addition I truly appreciated was the booklet that came with the CD. It gave 'the story behind the music'. For example, did you know Sam was stuck in a London hotel room on a Saturday night when he wrote Another Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody...Well, it seems the hotel didn't allow female visitors in the rooms and Sam was a bit lonely. And the song simply came to him. I'm always curious about the creative process.

This is a great album for anyone who appreciates good music, harmony, and singing. Sam Cooke was a one of a kind singer whose style cannot be imitated who was taken from us too soon. It is amazing that this guy had so many hit songs at such a young age. I think the song "Chain Gang" is one of his best pieces. He had the obvious hits such as "Cupid" and "Change is going to come", but this album is packed full of quality songs that you may not have heard of. His music certainly captures the era in which he performed. They also had a wholesomeness about them without the R rated crap. If he lived longer I believe he would've unquestionably went down as the best. One can make an intelligent argument for that with the body of work on this album. He was obviously a great songwriter, whose songs show an amazing storytelling ability along with a smooth voice. This is an album that you can listen to all day and not grow tired of it. Its amazing how so many young people are not familiar with him. This album would be a great gift for a young person in the music field or aspiring who wants to know what quality singing is. As a teacher I played some of his songs as background music while my students were working, and was surprised at how much they enjoyed it. The current crop of R&B singers out there with all the fanfare cannot compete with Sam Cooke's voice.

i like the stripped down RCA "The Best Of Sam Cooke" cd better but there's no problem with the quality of this cd. This cd is more for the bigger sam cooke fan then i am.

I remember when Muhammed Ali beat Sonny Liston; while being interviewed ringside, Ali spotted Sam Cook in the crowd and demanded he be led up to and into the ring. I couldn't help thinking at the time I was seeing the greatest boxer for all times and the greatest singer in the same space and time.

This disc is truly a treasure. The thing about these songs, whether slow & melodic (wonderful world),or uptempo (shake). Sam's vocals make it happen. Many tracks on this disc, remind me of the old "Negro" spirituals (a gospel feel). This CD is a bargain for any Sam Cook lover, 30 songs for this price! Simply put Sam Cook is the greatest male singer for all times. It is a shame he had to leave us in his early 30s I wonder what kind of portfolio he would have accumulated had he lived longer. Never will there be another like him, his music transcends time and space.