MORE SOUNDS FROM THE HOOD

The kid across the street was playing soul music today, blasting it from one of those portable speaker things that you hook up to your phone. The Delfonics caught my ear, but it wasn't until Sam Cooke came on that I realized that whoever made the mix was casting a wide soul net. Spotify, I figured, or some other overly generic source. Despite the mix of eras, at least the kid was listening to good music. I took a look to see if he was singing along, tapping his foot, patting his thigh or showing some sign that the music was somehow familiar to him. No dice. Just like the guy across the alley that was listening to Duke Reid stuff without knowing it. Just find a mix and hit play. Fair enough. You gotta start somewhere. It's not all that far removed from turning the radio dial to an oldies station and letting that rip, which was my introduction to Sam Cooke back when I was younger, a few years younger than this kid across the street. Shit, I should have patted the guy on the back for at least test driving old soul music considering what crap it could have been.

It got me to thinking about ol' Sam Cooke. Yeah, the Delfonics are groovy and all that, but, man, that Sam Cooke was something. I've never been able to put my finger on just why I like him so much. Obviously part of it is his voice, smooth but not enough grit to hit you over the head. He didn't need it. But it was the overall feel of his music. Didn't hurt being backed by the Wrecking Crew on a bunch of his early sixties stuff, but you can't even chalk it up to voice and backing. No, Cooke had something that went beyond the mechanics of music.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
The Delphonics - Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Sam Cooke - Twistin' the Night Away mp3 at Next Levelism
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come mp3 at Basement Rug
Sam Cooke - Wonderful World mp3 at WNPV