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I was born by the river It's been a long, long time coming It's been too hard living It's been a long, long time coming But I know a change gonna come Then I go to my brother There's been times that I thought
I walked into a local hardware store awhile back, looking for the wooden-handled hand tool with the double-sided serrated blade that can be swung back and forth to cut weeds. I wasn't having much luck, though. Maybe there's not as much demand for that type of tool these days, with so many gas or electrical-powered devices available to accomplish the same task. Still, I felt a need for the particular implement I sought. It could take on much bigger and stronger growths of brush, without having to drag out all the apparatus designed to do it more easily. I spotted shovels, rakes and hoes — all sorts of devices, except the one I wanted. A young,vest-wearing employee saw me looking over the various implements used by landscapers and gardeners and obviously sensed my frustration in my attempt to find what I needed. "Can I help you sir,?" The young man seemed eager to assist and I felt glad to have someone help me with my search. "Yeah," I said. "I'm trying to find a weed-whacker." He gave me a blank look. "What's a weed-whacker?" "Well, it's something you use to whack weeds." "Oh, you mean a Weed Eater," he said helpfully. "No," I replied. "A weed-whacker." Then I had an idea I thought may prove helpful in bridging the gap. "I'm talking about a weed-whacker, like those guys use on the chain gangs." I became the recipient of another blank look from the lad. "What's a chain gang?" At that point I politely thanked him for offering to help and then continued on my own until I eventually found a whole shelf of the long-sought weed whackers, sometimes called weed cutters, in a couple of different styles. I hoisted one, made sure no one was around to be the unintended recipient of an inadvertent whack, and made a few practice swings. Yes, this one would do nicely. By then, something else had happened. Sam Cooke's great song, "Chain Gang," had starting running through my head — his ode to the once prevalent inmate chain gangs prevalent, sometimes seen working along the roadsides in certain parts of the south. "That's the sound of the men workin' on the chain gang," Cooke sang in his song about the inmate laborers. "All day long you hear them going 'ooh, ah, ooh, ah.'" Cooke not only delivered the song's soulful vocals, empathizing with the forced laborers, he wrote the words and music as well. "Chain Gang" is only one of the many timeless songs he wrote. Cooke became known as a singer-songwriter before the term became popularized to describe artists such as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell as others. Many country singers, blues singers, and early rock 'n' rollers had written their own songs long before Cooke mastered the genre — but he was one of the first singer-songwriters to do so on the mainstream pop charts after that initial tide. Like many others of the era, he started as a gospel singer, and his work with the Soul Stirrers is a marvel to hear. Cook also wanted to write secular music and one of his first efforts came with "You Send Me." I've mentioned before how I've always liked to see who wrote the songs on recordings I heard. Cooke had the initial hit with many of his songs, but unlike "Chain Gang," some of them I first heard by other artists. When Johnny Rivers had a hit with "Cupid," I looked to see who wrote the song. Sam Cooke. Herman's Hermits and then later, James Taylor scored hits with "Wonderful World" — not the Louis Armstrong song, but the one that begins with the lyrics "Don't know much about history; Don't know much biology." The writer: Sam Cooke. I nearly wore out my record of the Animals performing "House of the Rising Sun," but I liked lots of their other recordings as well — especially "Bring It On Home to Me," featuring yet another soulful vocal by Eric Burdon, also written by Sam Cooke. When I looked to see how had written "Only Sixteen" by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, Cooke's name popped up again. Cat Stevens hit the charts with "Another Saturday Night," one of the few songs he recorded that he did not write himself. Yes, Cooke wrote that song as well. Even "Twistin' the Night Away," another hit by Rod Stewart, had been originally written and recorded by Sam Cooke. Most of those songs were hits both by Cooke and the artists who recorded them later. I thought I'd heard all of his best songs at a certain point. I also had an album Sam Cooke's greatest hits — but I still had more to learn. Once day I got an album called "Moondog Matinee," by one of my favorite groups, The Band. While most of their previous albums had been filled with original material, along with a few Bob Dylan songs, "A Change is Gonna Come," consisted entirely of cover songs, mostly from the 1950s and early '60s. They did include the typical hits of the era, though, digging a little deeper. When the last song on the album played, I wondered how I could have missed s song as stirring as "A Change Is Gonna Come." It starts with the lines "I was born by the river in a little tent. And just like that river. I've been running ever since. It's been a long, a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come." I later learned that the song's writer had been inspired after he'd heard Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and wanted to write another song that captured the spirit of the then-growing civil rights movement. The writer's untimely death came at the age of 33 during what was reported as an altercation with a female motel operator in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the writer did not get to see the song's success, since it was released posthumously . "A Change Is Gonna Come" since been recognized by the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry, as a song that is "Culturally, historically or aesthetically important." The Band's talented bassist Rick Danko handled lead vocals on the group's version of "A Change Is Gonna Come." Since I knew the album "Moondog Matinee" consisted of entirely cover songs, after I heard the recording, I had to search out the writer.I soon learned who had written the touching song, which is still sang today. Sam Cooke. Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews,com. What was Sam Cooke #1 song?His first solo hit, "You Send Me," became a #1 hit on both R&B and pop charts. His song "A Change is Gonna Come" was released in 1964, and it is widely considered one of his most influential songs. Cooke was killed two weeks before its release, but it became widely known as an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement.
Did Sam Cooke write a song about Aretha Franklin?"You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall.
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Aretha Franklin version.. Who Sang It's been a long time coming?"It's Been a Long, Long Time" is a big band-era song that was a hit at the end of World War II, with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Sammy Cahn.
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It's Been a Long, Long Time.. How did Sam Cooke impact the Civil Rights Movement?His refusal to sing at a segregated concert led to what many have described as one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience and helped usher in the new Civil Rights Movement.
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Sam cooke its been a long time
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