''Ain't That Good News'' is the eleventh and final studio album by American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released mid-February 1964, on

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ari ...

, allmusic: Overview – ''Ain't That Good News'' All Media Guide, LLC. Retrieved on October 12, 2008. in both mono and stereo, LPM 2899 and LSP 2899.Hugo, Luigi (2003), p. 1. Recording sessions for the album took place at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World Studio in February (track 5) and December 1963 (tracks 1, 3, 11, 12) and January 1964 (tracks 2 and 6 to 10). The cover photo was taken by American photographer Wallace Seawell. ''Ain't That Good News'' was the final studio album to be issued during Cooke's lifetime, before his death at the age of 33. With the exception of "

Another Saturday Night "Another Saturday Night" is a 1963 hit single by Sam Cooke from the album '' Ain't That Good News''. The song was written by Cooke while touring in England when staying in a hotel where no female guests were allowed. It reached No. 10 on the ' ...

", which had been released as a single early in the previous year, ''Ain't That Good News'' comprised the first material that Cooke had recorded in the six months following the drowning death of his 18-month-old son Vincent.Johnstone (1999), p. 74. The first album that Cooke recorded and released under his new contract with RCA, ''Ain't That Good News'' reached No. 34 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Albums chart. The album contains " A Change Is Gonna Come", one of Cooke's best-known songs. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

during the 1960s. The song has gained in popularity and critical acclaim in the decades since its release. By the time of its release, five of the tracks on ''Ain't That Good News'' had already or would later be released as singles. ''Ain't That Good News'' was reissued in

hybrid CD A hybrid disc is a disc, such as CD-ROM or Blu-ray, which contains multiple types of data which can be used differently on different devices. These include CD-ROM music albums containing video files viewable on a personal computer, or feature fil ...

Super Audio CD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple a ...

format by

ABKCO Records ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. (Allen & Betty Klein Company) is a major American independent record label, music publisher, and film and video production company. It owns and/or administers the rights to music by Sam Cooke, the Rolling Stones, the ...

in June 2003 with full music and session credits.

Music

A record that featured one side of harder soul numbers and another of mellower ballads, much like R&B musician

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

' ''

Modern Sounds ''Modern Sounds'' is the debut album by trumpeter and bandleader Shorty Rogers featuring performances recorded in late 1951 and originally released as a 10-inch LP on the Capitol label.Edwards, D., Eyries, P. and Callahan, MCapitol Album Discog ...

'' records, ''Ain't That Good News'' reflects Cooke's greater freedom in choosing material and sidemen. Therefore, it offered much pent-up emotional and musical expression, which was unique in the Cooke's output. Musically, ''Ain't That Good News'' features two sides of different stylistic approaches by Sam Cooke. According to record producers

Luigi Creatore Luigi Federico Creatore (December 21, 1921 – December 13, 2015) was an American songwriter and record producer. Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, the son of noted Italian-born bandleader and composer Giuseppe Creatore. After serving w ...

and

Hugo Peretti Hugo E. Peretti (December 6, 1916 – May 1, 1986) was an American songwriter, trumpeter, and record producer. Born in New York City to an Italian American family, Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Bors ...

, the first side of the album is "strong and rockin'," while the second side, "ballads....deep and soulful." They went on to write of the album: Side one features the nostalgic " Good Times", written by Cooke, and "

", which he wrote when staying in a hotel room where no female guests were allowed during a tour of the United Kingdom The rolling chorus of "Meet Me at Mary's Place" was also written by Cooke about a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

promoter in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

where gospel groups often stayed. The country-style "

Tennessee Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" is a popular country music song with lyrics by Redd Stewart and music by Pee Wee King written in 1946 and first released in January 1948. The song became a multimillion seller via a 1950 recording – as "The Tennessee Waltz" � ...

" is given new life here, while the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

, done out of the gospel tradition, would be his greatest hit until the central number on this album.Allik (2003), pp. 2–3. " A Change Is Gonna Come", with its soaring gospel sound and powerful first-person language, was written in response to Dylan's protest anthem "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions abou ...

" and became one of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...

's most well-known message songs, as well as Sam Cooke's signature recording. Following the centerpiece are orchestrated ballads and standards that are arranged by conductor

René Hall René Joseph Hall (September 26, 1912 ‒ February 11, 1988) was an American guitarist and arranger. He was among the most important behind the scenes figures in early rock and roll, but his career spanned the period from the late 1920s to the ...

. Cooke gives the

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russ ...

tune, "Sittin' in the Sun", a powerful reading as he does with "Home". Ending on a somber and emotional note, the album closes with Sam Cooke's rendition of the traditional Appalachian ballad "

The Riddle Song "The Riddle Song", also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry", is an English folk song, a lullaby carried over by settlers to the American Appalachians. History "The Riddle Song" descends from a 15th-century English song in which a maiden says sh ...

". According to string section leader Sid Sharp, Sam Cooke started to cry at the line "I gave my love a baby with no crying", which was reminiscent of the loss of Cooke's infant child, Vincent.

Track listing

All songs written by Sam Cooke, except where noted. ;Side one # " Ain't That Good News" – 2:30 # "Meet Me at Mary's Place" – 2:44 # " Good Times" – 2:28 # "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day" (Sam Cooke, Beverly Prudhomme, Betty Prudhomme) – 2:34 # "

" – 2:42 # "

" (

Pee Wee King Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski (February 18, 1914 – March 7, 2000), known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "Tennessee Waltz". Pee Wee King is credited with ...

Redd Stewart Henry Ellis Stewart (May 27, 1923 – August 2, 2003), better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948. Biography He was born in Ashland Ci ...

) – 3:12 ;Side two #

" A Change Is Gonna Come" – 3:13 # "Falling in Love" (

Harold Battiste Harold Raymond Battiste Jr. (October 28, 1931 – June 19, 2015) was an American music composer, arranger, performer, and teacher. A native of, and later community leader in, New Orleans, he is best known for his work as an arranger on record ...

) – 2:45 # " Home" (Jeff Clarkson, Harry Clarkson,

Peter van Steeden Peter van Steeden (April 4, 1904, Amsterdam – January 3, 1990, New Canaan, Connecticut) was a composer. His best-known composition, " Home (When Shadows Fall)", has been performed by many musicians, including Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Paul ...

) – 2:32 # "Sittin' in the Sun" (

) – 3:18 # "No Second Time" (Clifton White) – 3:03 # "

" (Traditional) – 2:30

Chart history

Album

Singles

* Between late 1963 and late 1964,

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...

did not publish an R&B singles chart.

Personnel

* Sam Cooke – vocals * Chuck Badie, Buddy Clark,

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player ...

, Clifford Hils, Eddie Tilman – bass guitar * Joseph Gibbons – banjo *

Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

John Boudreaux John Mortimer Boudreaux, Jr. (December 10, 1936, New Roads, Louisiana – January 14, 2017, Los Angeles) was an American drummer who was active in jazz, soul, and rhythm & blues idioms. Early Years Boudreaux moved to New Orleans at age ten or ...

, Edward Hall,

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...

– drums * Norman Bartold, Le Roy Crume, Barney Kessel,

John Pisano John Pisano (born February 6, 1931) is a jazz guitarist born in Staten Island, New York. Biography Pisano has worked with Herb Alpert, Billy Bean, Chico Hamilton, Peggy Lee, and Joe Pass. Discography As leader * ''Makin' It: Guitar Duets'' wit ...

, Allen Reuss,

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early years Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 - a ...

, Clifton White – guitar *

Emil Richards Emil Richards (born Emilio Joseph Radocchia; September 2, 1932 – December 13, 2019) was an American vibraphonist and percussionist. Biography Musician Richards began playing the xylophone aged six. In High School, he performed with the Hartf ...

–

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

, percussion,

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

* Linwood Mitchell – percussion *

, Ray Johnson – piano *

Lincoln Mayorga Lincoln Mayorga (born March 28, 1937) is an American pianist, arranger, conductor and composer who has worked in rock and roll, pop, jazz and classical music. Life and career Pop music in the 1950s and '60s Mayorga was born in Los Angeles, Cal ...

– piano, celeste * William Hinshaw –

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

* Jewell Grant, William Green,

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sa ...

, Edgar Redmond, Red Tyler – saxophone * Milton Bernhart, Ernest Tack, David Wells, John Halliburton,

Harry Betts Harry Betts (September 15 1922 – July 13 2012) was an American jazz trombonist. Background Born in New York and raised in Fresno, California, he was active as a jazz trombonist and played with Stan Kenton's orchestra in the 1950s. He can be hea ...

, Louis Blackburn, Streamline Ewing –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

* John Anderson,

Melvin Lastie Melvin Clarke Lastie, Sr. (November 18, 1930 – December 4, 1972) was an American R&B trumpeter, flugelhornist, and cornetist. He also played jazz and was a session musician on many soul and rock records of the 1960s. Lastie was born in Ne ...

– trumpet * Jesse Ehrlich, Emmet Sargeant – cello * Harry Hyams, Alexander Neiman –

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

Israel Baker Israel Baker (February 11, 1919 – December 25, 2011) was an American violinist and concertmaster. Through a long and varied career he played with many of the greatest figures in the worlds of classical music, jazz and pop. He appeared on hund ...

, Robert Barene, Arnold Belnick, John DeVoogdt, William Kurasch, Irving Lipschultz, Leonard Malarsky, Jack Pepper, Ralph Schaeffer, Sid Sharp, Darrell Terwilliger, Tibor Zelig – violin * James Bryant – backing vocals * Gwenn Johnson – backing vocals * Carol Lombard – backing vocals * Robert Tebow – backing vocals *

George Tipton George Aliceson Tipton (January 23, 1932 – February 12, 2016) was an American composer, musical arranger, and conductor, who is well known for his work in television and for his collaborations with singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. Among Tip ...

– backing vocals *

Jackie Ward Jackie Ward (born Jacqueline McDonnell, 1941), better known as Robin Ward, is an American singer, regarded as a "one-hit wonder" of 1963 million-selling song "Wonderful Summer". However, using her real name she was highly accomplished and s ...

– backing vocals *

The Soul Stirrers The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on soul, doo wop, and Motown, some of the secular musi ...

– backing vocals *

– producer * Dave Hassinger – recording

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, Joe Hooven – arranger, conductor * Jody H. Klein, Teri Landi – reissue producer * Wally Seawell – cover photo * Frank Driggs – photography (2008 import release)

Release history

An official reissue of ''Ain't That Good News'' came nearly forty years after its initial 1964 release on LP format. The reissued compact disc of the album featured Super-Audio and Hybrid format, also known as Super High Material, which enhanced audio quality through the use of polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

and discovered through the joint companies' research of LCD display manufacturing, these CDs featured improved transparency on the data side of the disc, allowing for more accurate reading of the data by the CD player laser head. The reissues were fully compatible with standard CD players, and are listed below:Sam Cooke Ain't That Good News Japan SHM CD
eil.com. Retrieved on October 12, 2008.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Songs of Sam Cooke: Main Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ain't That Good News (Album) 1964 albums Sam Cooke albums RCA Victor albums Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi Albums arranged by René Hall Albums conducted by René Hall