''The Best of Sam Cooke'' is the second greatest hits album 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 ...

. Produced by

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 ...

, the album was released in 1962 in the United States 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 ...

. The compilation contains most of

's most well-known hits from 1957 to 1962.

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Ron Wynn gave ''The Best of Sam Cooke'' three-and-a-half out of five stars and called it "an above-average greatest hits collection, although no sampler could fully convey Sam Cooke's genius." In '' Blender'',

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

was more critical, giving it one star and recommending listeners overlook the album in favor of the 30-song compilation '' Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964''.

Track listing

Side one

#" You Send Me" – 2:45 #" Only Sixteen" – 2:02 #"

Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha" (originally released as "Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha") is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in January 1959. The song was one of Cooke's biggest successes on ''Billboard (magazine), Billbo ...

" – 2:42 #"

(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons "(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons" is a popular song written by Ivory "Deek" Watson, founding member of the Ink Spots and of the Brown Dots, and William "Pat" Best, founding member of the Four Tunes. The credits and Leeds Publishing Company ...

" – 2:38 #" Wonderful World" – 2:06 #" Summertime" – 2:21

Side two

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 ...

" – 2:35 #"

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

" – 2:37 #" Twistin' the Night Away" – 2:43 #"

Sad Mood "Sad Mood" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released on November 8, 1960 by RCA Victor. Arranged and conducted by Sammy Lowe, the song charted within the top 30 of ''Billboard'' Hot R&B Sides chart and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

" – 2:38 #"

Having a Party Having a Party may refer to: * ''Having a Party'' (Chips album), 1982 * ''Having a Party'' (Pointer Sisters album), 1977 * "Having a Party" (Sam Cooke song), 1962 * "Having a Party" (The Osmonds song), 1975 {{disambiguation ...

" – 2:36 #" Bring It On Home to Me" – 2:44

Personnel

– vocals *

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

– back-up vocals

Vinyl Re-Issue

In 2018, Sony Music reissued the album in its original vinyl format as part of the RCA Legacy Recordings series.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best of Sam Cooke, The Sam Cooke compilation albums Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi 1962 greatest hits albums RCA Records compilation albums RCA Victor compilation albums