L.C. COOKE-THE COMPLETE SAR RECORDINGS.

dereksmusicblog ♦ August 10, 2014 ♦ Leave a comment

L.C. COOKE-THE COMPLETE SAR RECORDINGS.

Although Sam Cooke made his name as a singer and songwriter, he was also a successful producer. So much so, that Sam formed his own record label SAR Recordings. This made sense. He needed a vehicle for the various artists he was producing. They included some big names. Among them were The Soul Stirrers, Bobby Womack, Johnny Taylor and  The Simms Twins. Another artist Sam produced was his younger brother L.C. Cooke.

L.C. Cooke was also a singer. Despite his undoubted talent, L.C. Cooke lived in his brother’s shadow. This wasn’t anyone’s fault. Sam Cooke was a huge star. He wasn’t just one of the biggest names in soul, but music per se. So, for L.C. Cooke, it was going to be almost impossible to step out his brother’s shadow. 

The sad thing is, that like any sibling with a famous brother or sister, L.C. Cooke was always perceived as Sam’s younger brother. People overlooked that L.C. Cooke was a talented singer and songwriter. That’s apparent on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings which was recently released by Ace Records.

L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings features eighteen tracks recorded between October 1960 and January 1964. These tracks are a reminder that the Cooke family were a talented family.

L.C. Cooke and Sam Cooke were two of the eight children Annie Mae and the Rev. Charles Cook, a baptist minister. They were born and brought up in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Growing up, L.C. Cooke and the rest of his brothers and sisters were part of the family singing group, The Singing Children. This launched the career of L.C. and Sam.

The Singing Children was just the start of L.C’s career. He then became a member of doo woo group, Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents. After that, L.C. decided to embark upon a solo career.

Having signed to Leonard Chess’ Checker Records, L.C. Cooke released Do You Remember in 1958? It was penned by L.C, but failed to chart. So did the two singles L.C. released during 1959. 

I’m Falling was released in May 1959. Written by L.C. it’s an irresistible slice of perfect pop. Five months later, L.C. released If I Could Only Hear October 1959. If I Could Only Hear shows what L.C. Cooke is capable of. He breathes life, meaning and emotion into the lyrics. L.C. does this on If I Could Only Hear. His vocal is tinged with hurt and regret, as he makes the song swing. Sometimes, L.C. sounds like his brother Sam. Despite the quality of If I Could Only Hear, commercial success continued to elude L.C. Cooke. 

L.C. left Checker Records after If I Could Only Hear failed to chart. It features on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings. So does You Remember and I’m Falling. After leaving Checker Records, L.C. wasn’t long without a label.

Next stop for L.C. Cooke was Wand. He released just one single on Wand, Half A Man. Still L.C. couldn’t catch a break. That was until he signed to his brother Sam’s new label, SAR Records.

While some people may have accused Sam Cooke of nepotism, they didn’t realise how talented L.C. Cooke was. That was apparent when entered the studio on 2nd September 1960. He returned to the studio on 22nd September 1960. The fruits of these sessions were Magic Words and Teach Me.

Magic Words was L.C. Cooke’s SAR Records’ debut and features on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings. It was written by his brother Sam and J.W. Alexander. It’s an uptempo fusion of soul and pop, where the hooks haven’t been spared. On the flip side, the Sam Cooke and J.W. Alexander penned ballad features a needy, heartfelt vocal. Of the two tracks, maybe Teach Me would’ve made a better single, given it oozes soulfulness ?Despite the quality of Magic Words and Teach Me, success continued to elude L.C. 

March 1961 saw L.C. release his second single on SAR Records. This was The Lover, a Sam Cooke penned song. On the flip side was Sufferin’ which L.C. wrote. Recording of the two tracks took place on 2nd September 1960 and 17th January 1961. On its release in March 1961, the single disappeared without trace. That was a great shame. It’s one of the finest moments of L.C’s career. Rasping horns and sweeping strings set the scene for L.C. Strings then sweep L.C’s sassy vocal along. He swaggers his way through the songs. When you turn over and listen to Sufferin, L.C. sounds just like his brother Sam. As for the arrangement, it sometimes reminds me of Chain Gang. Just like The Lover, Sufferin’ showcases L.C’s talent and soulfulness. Surely, success couldn’t be far away?

L.C. and Sam returned to the studio on April 1st 1962. Sam wrote and produced You’re Working Out Your Bag. It would become the B-Side to Tell Me, which L.C. wrote Both tracks were recorded at the familiar surroundings of United Recordings, Hollywood. That’s where all L.C’s songs were recorded. Tell Me is a catchy, soulful track. On the B-Side, You’re Working Out Your Bag L.C. delivers a powerhouse of a vocal. This time, he reminds of Bobby Womack. His voice has a tougher, rougher sound. It’s as if he’s determined to find his own style. Sadly, still commercial success eluded L.C.

As commercial success continued to elude L.C, his brother Sam continued to enjoy widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. He was one of the biggest names in music. Maybe some of that success would rub off?

L.C’s next single was The Wobble, another Sam Cooke track. It’s a song written for the dance-floor. Back then, songwriters and artists were looking for the new Twist. The Wobble was Sam’s shot at the title. L.C. recorded The Wobble on 15th February 1963. On the B-Side was Chalk Line. This wasn’t a new song. It had been recorded on 1st March 1962. Written by Sam and Joseph Wallace, Chalk Line sees L.C. combine pop and soul. Despite the popularity of novelty dance tracks, The Wobble didn’t become a musical phenomena. 

Put Me Down Easy was the last single L.C. Cooke released while his brother was alive. Fittingly, Sam wrote Put Me Down Easy. It’s a beautiful ballad where L.C’s vocal is needy and full sadness. He delivered the lyrics like he’d lived them. Incredibly, the song had been cut ten months earlier, on 15th February and 6th March 1963. That was the case with the B-Side, Take Me For What I Am. It was recorded at United Recording, Hollywood on 15th and 19th February 1963. It’s an uptempo fusion of soul and pop where L.C, that shows another side to L.C’s music. Sadly, despite the talent he displays, on Put Me Down Easy success passed L.C by. That’s not the end of L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings.

The rest of the tracks on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings have never been released before. This includes a previously unreleased version of the Sam Cooke penned The Lover. It features a sassy vamp from L.C. That’s the perfect way to describe Missy Sally. Without doubt, this is one of L.C. Cooke’s finest hours. He struts his way through the track, making it his own. There’s also two versions of Sam Cooke’s Gonna Have A Good Time. They were recorded on the 7th and 21st May 1964. The first version comes to abrupt end, as L.C. fluffs his lines, amidst chatter and laughter. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. His vocal is slow, sultry and soulful and takes centre-stage, where it belongs. However, it’s not the only hidden gem on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings.

Another hidden gem is alternate version of Put Me Down Easy. It was recorded on 15th February 1963. Sam wrote and produced the track. Another version was chosen as a single in January 1964. So, this version of Put Me Down Easy didn’t see the light of day until the release of Sam Cooke’s SAR Records Story in 1994. Belatedly, this soulful hidden gem found a wider audience. Eleven months after sam released Put Me Down Easy as a single, L.C’s life changed forever.

Sam Cooke died on December 11th 1964, at the Hacienda Motel at 9137 South Figueroa St. in Los Angeles. Details are sketchy. When the L.A.P.D. arrived at the Hacienda Motel, they are responding to reports of a shooting and kidnapping. 

What they found was Sam Cooke, lying dead, wearing  just a sports jacket and shoes. He’d been shot through the chest. The bullet had pierced Sam’s heart and he died instantly. When questioned, the Motel manager claimed she shot Sam Cooke in self-defence, after he broke into her office residence and attacked her. However, since then, mystery surrounds Sam Cooke’s death. L.C. Cooke was devastated.

He’d lost his older brother. This was the man he looked up to. Sam was L.C’s mentor and producer. He also wrote many of the songs L.C. recorded. For L.C. Cooke the death of his brother affected him personally and professionally.

L.C. Cooke had been about to start work on his debut album for SAR Recordings. It was to be a ten track album. That never happened. The final single L.C. recorded on SAR Recordings was a slow, lush and dramatic version of Do You Wanna Dance (Yea Man). That was L.C’s SAR Recordings’ swan-song.

After L.C. Cooke left SAR Recordings, his career as a singer and songwriter continued. Eventually,  L.C. Cooke became knowns as a talented and successful songwriter. However, he could just as easily have enjoyed commercial success and critical acclaim as a singer. The problem was L.C. Cooke was forever in the shadow of his brother Sam. 

As a result, L.C. Cooke the singer, never received the recognition he deserved. It’s only now that do people fully appreciate just how talented L.C. Cooke was. Having a famous brother didn’t really help him. If anything, it hindered him. People always saw him as Sam’s little brother, not L.C. Cooke singer and songwriter. What didn’t help was that sometimes, L.C. and Sam sound the same. Both sounded alike and had one thing in common…they were talented singers and songwriters. That’s apparent when you listen to L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings which was recently released by Ace Records. 

L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recordings is a reminder of one of the most underrated singers in the history of soul music. He was able to sing soul, pop and blues. Seamlessly, L.C. switches between the three genres on L.C. Cooke-The Complete SAR Recording,s and shows that he’s much more than Sam’s little brother.

L.C. COOKE-THE COMPLETE SAR RECORDINGS.