Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964

by Sam Cooke

Overview

Some 46 years after his first pop hit, and 39 years after his death, comes only the second attempt at a comprehensive Sam Cooke collection. Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 eclipses RCA's early-'80s The Man and His Music, going it better in running time but losing some important recordings -- "That's Heaven to Me" and "Soothe Me," arguably one of Cooke's most important songs -- in the process of summing up his career. From 1951's Soul Stirrers' gospel classic "Touch the Hem of His Garment" through to 1964's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Shake," we get highlights of Cooke's career presented in state-of-the-art digital audio; superior in every way possible to the audio quality of The Man and His Music. What's more, this is a hybrid disc with SACD capability, and the sound on that layer is almost as much of a jump above the quality on the CD layer as this remastering is from the old The Man and His Music disc; and either the standard CD or the SACD playback makes that 1980s-issued compilation sound faint and anemic. There's also annotation here -- which was totally lacking on the earlier CD -- by Peter Guralnick, which delves very effectively into the background of each song. And the producers have taken the trouble to be a little inventive in the programming -- it would have been easy enough to follow a strict chronological approach, but instead the disc opens and closes with tracks that reveal Cooke's gospel roots, which is pretty much where his music started and where it ended up, bookending his first hit with songs from his first session ever. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	02/11/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031478066

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sam Cooke   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
The Soul Stirrers   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus,Featured Artist
Bobby Womack   Guest Artist,Guitar
Lou Rawls   Guest Artist,Vocals
Billy Preston   Guest Artist,Organ
Robert Tebow   Vocals (Background)
Joseph R. Gibbons   Banjo,Guitar
George Collier   Guitar
Isadore Roman   Violin
Louise Blackburn   Trombone
Warren Myles   Piano
Norman Bartold   Guitar
Ronald Selico   Drums
Bob King   Guitar
Cecil Figelski   Cello
S.S. Farley   Vocals (Background)
Jimmie Outler   Vocals (Background)
Ben Miller   Violin
Clifford Hils   Bass
Armand Karpoff   Cello
Ralph Brewster   Vocals (Background)
Jack Pepper   Violin
Tibor Zelig   Violin
Irving Lipschultz   Violin
Ted Brinson   Bass
William Pitman   Guitar
James E. Bond   Bass
Robert Bryant   Trumpet
Edward Truman Beal   Piano
Edgar Redmond   Saxophone
Russell Bridges   Piano
Carol Lee Lombard   Vocals (Background)
Milt Hinton   Bass
Stu Williamson   Trumpet
John DeVoogdt   Violin
Tommy Tedesco   Guitar
Wilbert Nuttycombe   Viola
Frederick Seykora   Cello
Jewell L. Grant   Saxophone
Arnold Belnick   Violin
Harper Cosby   Bass
Melvin Lastie   Trumpet
Hal Blaine   Drums,Percussion
John Boudreaux   Drums
Glen Campbell   Guitar
Harold Battiste, Jr.   Piano
Emil Radocchia   Marimba,Timpani,Percussion
Robert Barene   Violin
Sidney Sharp   Violin
Hinda Barnet   Violin
Eddie Tilman   Bass
Betty Jane Baker   Vocals (Background)
Marvin Limonick   Violin
Doreen Tryden   Vocals (Background)
Joseph Coppin   Cello
James Bryant   Vocals (Background)
Adolphus Alsbrook Jr.   Bass
Thomas L. Bruster   Vocals (Background)
Leonard Malarsky   Violin
J.J. Farley   Vocals (Background)
Lee Gotch   Vocals (Background)
Sue Allen   Vocals (Background)
Israel Baker   Violin
Jackie Ward   Vocals (Background)
Everett Barksdale   Guitar
Jack Halloran   Vocals (Background)
Frank Capp   Drums,Percussion
Charles Libove   Violin
Allan Harshman   Viola
Edgar Blanchard   Guitar
Albert "June" Gardner   Drums
John Pisano   Guitar
William Green   Saxophone
Ernie Hayes   Piano
William Kurash   Violin
John Ewing   Trombone
John Kelson, Jr.   Saxophone
Ambrose Russo   Violin
Emmet Sargeant   Cello
Fred Fradkin   Violin
Alexander Neiman   Viola
Harold Dicterow   Violin
Gareth "Garry" Nuttycombe   Violin
Myron Sandler   Violin
Eddie Hall   Drums,Percussion
Alicia Adams   Vocals (Background)
R.B. Robinson   Vocals (Background)
Jack Costanza   Bongos
Ulysses Livingston   Guitar
Joseph Saxon   Violin
Elliot Fisher   Violin
Chuck Badie   Bass
John Anderson   Trumpet
Archie Levin   Violin
Charles Blackwell   Drums
Rene Hall   Guitar,Conductor
Barney Kessel   Guitar
Earl Palmer   Drums
Ernie Freeman   Piano
Leroy Crume   Guitar
Howard Roberts   Guitar
Julius Wechter   Percussion
Harry Lookofsky   Violin
Plas Johnson   Saxophone
Tom Kenny   Vocals (Background)
Darrel Terwilliger   Violin
Glenn Osser   Conductor
Harry Hyams   Viola
Ralph Schaeffer   Violin
William Hinshaw   French Horn
Max Cahn   Violin
Mike Pacheco   Congas
Anthony Terran   Trumpet
Charles Parlato   Vocals (Background)
Panama Francis   Drums
Paul Foster   Vocals (Background)
David Nadien   Violin
Jesse Ehrlich   Cello
Samuel Boghossian   Viola
Loulie Jean Norman   Vocals (Background)
Senior Roy Crain   Vocals (Background)
Richard Gibbs   Vocals (Background)
Jimmie Haskell   Conductor
Sally Stevens   Vocals (Background)
Sammy Lowe   Conductor
Dave Wells   Trombone
Frank Fields   Bass
Clifton White   Guitar
Ray Pohlman   Bass
Marshall Sosson   Violin
Raymond Johnson   Piano
Red Tyler   Saxophone
Red Callender   Bass
Alfred Brown   Violin

Technical Credits

Deek Watson   Composer
Mick Gochanour   Transfers
Hiroyuki Komuro   Assistant Engineer
April Hobbs   Art Coordinator
Dorothy Heyward   Composer
Art Rupe   Producer
Herb Alpert   Composer
William "Pat" Best   Composer,Composer
David Hassinger   Engineer
Matt Boynton   Assistant Engineer
Tony Harris   Composer
Seth Adkins   Art Coordinator
J.W. Alexander   Composer
Angelo Tillery   Cover Illustration
Lucie Campbell   Composer
Wiliam Cook   Composer
Non Applicable   Composer
Luigi   Producer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
L.C. Cooke   Composer
Chester Burnett   Composer
Clarence Paul   Composer
James Alexander   Composer
Ben Bailes   Assistant Engineer
Ed Townsend   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
DuBose Heyward   Composer
Joe Tarantino   Mastering Engineer
Lou Adler   Composer,Producer
Iris Keitel   Art Direction
Hugo   Producer
Larraine Walton   Audio Production Director
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell   Producer
Lenne Allik   Concept
R. Harris   Composer
Alisa Ritz   Art Direction
Rene Hall   Arranger,Producer
Gus Skinas   Engineer
Steve Rosenthal   Restoration,Archives Coordinator
James W. Alexander   Composer
Dino Lappas   Engineer
Rick Essig   Transfers
Al Schmitt   Engineer,Producer
William Cook   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Dixon   Composer
Sam Cooke   Composer,Producer
Lucie E. Campbell   Composer
Pee Wee King   Composer
Teri Landi   Transfers,Restoration Supervision
Jimmie Haskell   Arranger
Jody H. Klein   Restoration Supervision
Redd Stewart   Composer
Peter Guralnick   Liner Notes