Sam Cooke – At The Copa LP For Sale

In 1964, when this concert at New York City s legendary Copacabana night club was recorded, Sam Cooke was at the top of his game, having charted numerous times with his unique blend of pop and soul. The success doesn t seem to have gone to his head, though: he sounds relaxed and conversational throughout this intimate performance. Accompanied by a band that includes Bobby Womack on guitar, Cooke brings his R&B tendencies further to the fore than on his immaculately produced studio work. He moves deftly through his own hits, like You Send Me and Twistin the Night Away, but it s on the folk songs If I Had a Hammer and Blowin in the Wind that he really stretches out, proving himself a gifted interpreter unbound by stylistic constrictions. At the Copa is an essential part of the Cooke canon.