"Sad Mood" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, released on November 8, 1960 by

RCA Victor 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 Aris ...

. Arranged and conducted by

Sammy Lowe Sammy Lowe (May 14, 1918, Birmingham, Alabama – February 17, 1993, Birmingham) was an American trumpeter, arranger, and conductor. Career Lowe was active both in jazz and in R&B music, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. From the 1930s to ...

, the song charted within the top 30 of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot R&B Sides chart and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

"Sad Mood" was first recorded in Cooke's second singles session for RCA on April 13, 1960. The song was set aside after four takes, with Cooke unhappy with the way it was working. Cooke gave it another go on October 1, 1960, this time with "strings, an all-star rhythm section, an assured vocal, and a

arrangement." Despite this, Cooke was still largely unhappy with the way it turned out, feeling it missed something. "He had established a way of working with arranger

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 ...

out on the Coast, and even though Sammy Lowe's string arrangements were not all that different from some of René's, the song still did not say Sam Cooke in the way that some of his earlier

Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People *Keen (surname) *Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * Keen (band), Italian band * Keen (song), "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record ...

hits indelibly, if indefinably, had," said biographer Peter Guralnick.

Hugo & Luigi Hugo & Luigi were an American record producing team, made up of songwriters and producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, who shared an office in New York's Brill Building. Besides their working relationship, they were cousins. Background First ...

were nonetheless satisfied, and set themselves on making it the follow-up single to "

Chain Gang A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...

". "Sad Mood" charted well, but sold only 150,000 copies, roughly one-quarter of the sales of its predecessor.Guralnick, Peter (2005). ''Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke''. New York:

Back Bay Books Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

, p. 325, 348, 361. First edition, 2005.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

to the 2003 compilation '' Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964''. *Sam Cooke –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Clifton White – guitar *David Francis – drums *Milton Hinton – bass guitar *Ernie Hayes – piano *Everett Barksdale – violin *Hinda Barnet – violin *Alfred Brown – violin *Max Cahn – violin *Fred Fradkin – violin *Archie Levin – violin *Charles Libove – violin *Harry Lookofsky – violin *Ben Miller – violin

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

References

{{Authority control 1960 singles Sam Cooke songs Songs written by Sam Cooke 1960 songs RCA Victor singles Song recordings produced by Hugo & Luigi