I just finished reading Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick (author of The Old and New Testaments, sometimes referred to as the Elvis biographies: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love). I read it more as a fan of Guralnick than Sam Cooke , having loved the Elvis books and his Sweet Soul Music. I always thought Cooke's music was a little on the light side -- nice to listen to, but without the gravity of Ray Charles or Lou Rawls or some of the other soul greats. I have a new found respect for the singer and his songs now, though. He had an amazing talent not only for singing and performing, but also for recognizing trends in music. He was clearly ahead of the curve from both an artistic and business perspective.Guralnick is obviously a fan, but he still gives Cooke an extensive, honest examination. The descriptions of the studio work and performances are amazing, as is the amount of, erm, action, that Cooke got. Which, I guess was ultimately his downfall.
It took me about a month to read, and it was funny that even though I knew how and when he died, when I finally got to that part of the book, I got kind of depressed. I guess the depth to which the book goes illustrating Cooke and his gifts drove home how senseless his death was. Even if it was more or less his own fault.
Great read.
3 comments:
Can't wait to read this - thanks for the info. I treasure my Sam Cooke box set. On the music front, also check out Hotel California, the new one about Laurel Canyon, CSNY, Jackson Browne, etc. from the late 60s to the early 70s. On an unrelated note, there's also an excellent Cole Porter biography out there (I'll have to find it for the author info) that is highly entertaining, even if you're not terribly familiar with Porter's stuff.
I read a bit about how he died on Wikipedia. Sounds kinda like how Joe might go, too: in a motel office, wearing only a coat and a shoe ...
Fuck you! I never wear shoes, Jay!
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