''Cooke's Tour'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

, released in May 1960 in by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. ''Cooke's Tour'' was the singer's first album on the

label. The album was

remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

in 2011 as a part of ''The RCA Albums Collection''.

Background

As Keen's marketing was limited, Sam Cooke began to shop around to other labels in February 1960. Interest was immediate from labels such as Atlantic and Capitol, but Cooke signed with Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore at RCA Victor, who offered a $100,000 advance. RCA Victor had previously signed Jesse Belvin, Della Reese and

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

, and Peretti and Creatore were set on making Cooke an international album artist. ''Cooke's Tour'', recorded on March 2 and 3, 1960, is an "adventurous travelogue" that explores various territories around the world. Glen Osser wrote arrangements and conducted the album's orchestra, which was an R&B rhythm section and a fifteen-piece string ensemble. Cooke was closest to the album's final track, "The House I Live In," as he had just moved into his dream home in

Leimert Park, Los Angeles Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

Track listing

All songs arranged and conducted by Glen Osser.

Side one

# "

Far Away Places "Far Away Places" is an American popular song. It was written by Joan Whitney and Alex Kramer and published in 1948. The recording by Bing Crosby & The Ken Darby Choir was recorded on November 25, 1948 and released by Decca Records as catalog n ...

" (

Joan Whitney Kramer Joan Whitney Kramer (June 26, 1914 – July 12, 1990), also known as Zoe Parenteau and Joan Whitney, was an American singer and songwriter. Early years Born as Zoe Parenteau in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 26, 1914,"Joan Whitney Kramer; ...

Alex Kramer Alex J. Kramer (May 30, 1903 – February 10, 1998) was a Canadian songwriter. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His parents were Adolph and Freda Kramer. At age 17 he was hired as a pianist in a silent movie theater in Montreal. He tra ...

) – 3:28 # " Under Paris Skies" (

Hubert Giraud Hubert Yves Adrian Giraud (3 March 1920 – 16 January 2016) was a French composer and lyricist. Career Giraud began his career playing the harmonica with Django Reinhardt's jazz group, the Quintette du Hot Club de France. In 1941, he was recr ...

Kim Gannon James Kimball "Kim" Gannon (November 18, 1900 – April 29, 1974) was an American songwriter, more commonly a lyricist than a composer. Biography Gannon was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Irish-American family from Fort Ann in upstate Ne ...

Jean Dréjac Jean Dréjac, stage name of Jean André Jacques Brun (3 June 1921, in Grenoble – 11 August 2003, in Paris) was a French singer and composer. He is noted for writing the songs " Ah! Le petit vin blanc", " Sous le ciel de Paris" and "La Chansonne ...

) – 3:10 # " South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)" (

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a British songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as "Teddy Bears' Picnic" and "My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr (composer), ...

, Michael Carr) – 3:10 # "

Bali Ha'i "Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical '' South Pacific''. The name refers to a mystical island, visible on the horizon but not reachable, and was originally inspired by the sight of Am ...

" (

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

) – 3:17 # " The Coffee Song (They've Got An Awful Lot of Coffee in Brazil)" (

Bob Hilliard Bob Hilliard (born Hilliard Goldsmith; January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971) was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs: "Alice in Wonderland", " In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", " Any Day Now", " Dear Hearts and Gentl ...

, Richard Miles) – 2:02 # " Arrivederci, Roma (Goodbye to Rome)" (

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice ...

Renato Rascel Renato Ranucci (; 27 April 1912 – 2 January 1991), known by the stage name Renato Rascel (), was an Italian film actor and singer. He appeared in 50 films between 1942 and 1972. He represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 with t ...

) – 2:47

Side two

# "London by Night" (Carroll Coates) – 3:34 # "

Jamaica Farewell "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess ( Irving Burgie), an American-born, half- Barbadian songwriter. It is about the beauties of the West Indian Islands. Harry Belafont ...

" ( Irving Burgie) – 2:32 # "

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...

" ( Dr. Arthur Colahan) – 3:00 # "

Sweet Leilani "Sweet Leilani" is a song featured in the 1937 film, '' Waikiki Wedding''. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Bing Crosby's record became one of the biggest hits of 1937. Harry Owens wrote the song on October 20, 1934 for his dau ...

" (Harry Owens) – 2:48 # "The Japanese Farewell Song" (Hasegawa Yoshida, Freddy Morgan) – 2:57 # "The House I Live In" (Lewis Allen,

Earl Robinson Earl Hawley Robinson (July 2, 1910 – July 20, 1991) was an American composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington. Robinson is remembered for his music, including the cantata " Ballad for Americans" and songs s ...

) – 3:19

Personnel

All credits adapted from ''The RCA Albums Collection'' (2011) liner notes. *Sam Cooke –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Al Hanlon, Charles Macey, Clifton White, Al Chernet – guitar *

Lloyd Trotman Lloyd Nelson Trotman (May 25, 1923 – October 3, 2007), born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, was an American jazz bassist, who backed numerous jazz, dixieland, R&B, and rock and roll artists in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He resided i ...

George Duvivier George Duvivier (August 17, 1920 – July 11, 1985) was an American jazz double-bassist. Biography Duvivier was born in New York City, the son of Leon V. Duvivier and Ismay Blakely Duvivier. He attended the Conservatory of Music and Art, where ...

– bass guitar *Bunny Shawker – drums *George Gabor – percussion *

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

, Morris Wechsler – piano *Jerome Weiner, Joe Small – flute *Hinda Barnett, Arcadie Berkenholz, James Bloom, Fred Buidrini, Morris Lefkowitz, Felix Orlewitz, Frank Siegfried, Ralph Silverman, Harry Urbont,

Paul Winter Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939) is an American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He is a pioneer of world music and earth music, which interweaves the voices of the wild with instrumental voices from classical, jazz and world music. The ...

, James Bloom, Anthony DiGirolamo, Ben Miller,

David Nadien David Nadien (March 12, 1926 – May 28, 2014) was an American virtuoso violinist and violin teacher. He was the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic from 1966 to 1970. His playing style, characterized by fast vibrato, audible shifting noise ...

– violin *Isadore Zir – viola *Ray Schweitzer – cello *Abe Rosen – harp * Glenn Osser – arrangement, conducting *Ray Hall – recording engineer *Bob Witt – photography

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke's Tour (Album) 1960 albums Sam Cooke albums RCA Victor albums Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi Albums arranged by Glenn Osser Albums conducted by Glenn Osser