Your Daily Song Fix

Sam Cooke began his career singing gospel, first with siblings and later as part of other various groups through the early 1950s.  In the second half of that decade, Cooke transitioned to pop music, releasing “Lovable,” his first pop single in 1956.  “Having a Party” was recorded in 1961 under his own record label after he had gained significant notoriety.  The studio version of this song features Cooke’s clear, soothing voice; something he carried over from his gospel days and a quality his fans adored him for.  The live version of the song appeared on “Live at the Harlem Square Club,” recorded in 1963, just one year before his controversial death in December, 1964.  In this live cut, a coarseness can be clearly heard in Cooke’s voice, probably as the result of time spent touring and performing live shows.  This grittier version of the song exemplifies something closer to rock and roll, and captures Sam Cooke’s true versatility as a singer and performer.

Studio version:

Live version:

Resembling characters from a Tom Sawyer book, Brooklyn-based Spirit Family Reunion has created a West Virginian-emo-esque folk song.  “Cold, so Cold” sounds like it’s from back-country middle America, but the band is from Brooklyn, so they’ve hit the image and sound spot-on.  This song could easily find it’s way onto the soundtrack of a rough-around-the-edges horror film.

Spirit Family Reunion – Cold, So Cold – SXSW 2010 from DUKE STREET on Vimeo.

Many people have an intimate knowledge of Elvis’ more popular songs. But not everyone has that same knowledge of his gospel music. In fact, Elvis was influenced by gospel from a very young age. Story has it that at two years old, he would frequently even try to run up on stage with the church choir to perform.

This hymn, originally written by Swedish poet Carl Gustav Boberg, was arranged by Presley and is the title track of Elvis’ second gospel album “How Great Thou Art.” This song won a Grammy in 1967 for Best Sacred Performance.

I recently traveled to Nashville and actually had the privilege of touring and recording in studio B at RCA studios, which is where this song was recorded. The highlight of the tour was when the producer there turned the lights down and played this song over the original speakers.

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, released on August 18,2008, was a collaboration between two amazing artists – David Byrne and Brian Eno. Leo Abrahams helped produce the album and also co-wrote “Strange Overtones.” This electronic gospel album was born after a dinner conversation where Brian Eno told David Byrne that he had accumulated a lot of music that he had never formed into songs.