Sam Cooke’s Heartbroken Fans Give Him A Posthumous Hit

Sam Cooke’s tragic, sudden and unexpected death in December 1964 was a blow to music. Many of the fans of Cooke, who was a brilliant vocalist, songwriter, and performer, were shocked to learn of his mysterious shooting at age 33. Cooke’s first hit posthumously came less than a month later.

“Shake,” an infectious upbeat composition by Cooke himself, was recorded at his last studio session at RCA Studios in Hollywood, just a month before his demise. It was released a mere ten days after he was killed, in a historic double-sided single that also featured the epic and elegiac “A Change Is Gonna Come,” a song that would soon become forever associated with the civil rights movement.

The A-side entered Billboard Hot 100 at No.73 on January 9, 1965, and the R&B chart a week later. “Shake” became a major hit in both genres, climbing to No.7 in the pop market and spending three weeks at No.2 on the soul chart.

The song went on to be covered by a who’s who of artists, hitting the R&B Top 20 in 1967 for Otis Redding Inspirational pop covers by the likes the Small Faces A young person is a good choice. Rod Stewart. There were also versions by Ike & Tina Turner and the SupremesAfter four months, he released the tribute album We Remember Sam Cooke.

Listen to uDiscover Music’s Greatest Soul 45s playlist.

This fifth studio album by the Motown trio also featured their version of “A Change Is Gonna Come” and other fondly-remembered Cooke numbers such as “You Send Me,” “Chain Gang,” and “Only Sixteen.” There was also a rare lead vocal for Florence Ballard on his “(Ain’t That) Good News.”

Buy or stream “Shake” on the Sam Cooke compilation Portrait Of A Legend.

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