A night in 1963. Harlem Square Club:

"Right now, ladies and gentleman, we'd like to get ready and introduce the star of our show, the young man you've all been waiting for, Mister Soul, what d'you say let's all get together and welcome to the stand with a great big hand, how 'bout it for Sam Cooke."

Backstage, as the announcer was halfway through his introduction Sam Cooke was making his way toward the stage. Coming down the stairs to the stage right in front of him pops up a 6 inch scorpion. Without even breaking his stride Sam Cooke steps on the little devil and makes it to the stage just as the MC finishes the introduction. From the first to the last, Sam Cooke puts on one hell of a show.

As Woodstock celebrates its 40th I compile a list of all those shows and concerts I wish I had been alive for an in attendance for. Woodstock and Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 aren't very far from each other on the list. Just listening to Sam Cooke's live album now sends shivers down my spines. It is everything anyone could ever want from a concert. It was intimate in a way that woodstock couldn't have been. You can hear every crack in Sam's voice as well as the audience's approval. You can hear laughter and personality that is a strict impossibility when you're playing to a huge crowd. The show is a tribute to Sam Cooke's legacy as a voice, a writer, and a performer. And I wish I could have been there.

If I were given the choice between this show and woodstock I wouldn't be able to chose. The best live shows are entirely different from one another and special for different things. While this one was a tribute to the artist, woodstock was a tribute to the audience, to the fans that make the music possible. And how can I decide between that?

What was special about Live at the Harlem Square Club was race. The show was performed after Cooke gained mass appeal and had become popular among a white population. But this show was almost strictly black and you can hear it in Cooke's voice. You can hear how at home he feels and how accepted he is by the black community. It's unimaginable that a white club would have received him so well, singing along and encouraging him further. You can hear him fit his role so perfectly, can feel him stress certain words to bring out a little more from his audience, can hear in his voice how he is pulling their strings.

oh let me tell you
i'm goin' down to the Bus station with a suitcase in my hand,(can you imagine me carrying a suitcase) yes i am
i'm goin' down to the Bus station with a suitcase in my hand, yes i am
i'm gonna grab me an armful of greyhound and ride just as close i can
do that thing for me now

i'm standin' here wonderin', baby, with a Cotton Picking Matchbox hole in my clothes, yes
i am

Can you imagine him singing that to a white crowd? Listening to this album made me realize I've never been to a show that great. One that can be so fun and bumpin at the time and mean so much 45 years later to an entirely different generation. It requires some amount of luck if a person ever sees a show like this in his lifetime so listen to me now: Go out and see cheap music! Even if you've never heard of the band, go see it if you can, you might be in the midst of history.

Sam Cooke died 2 years after this performance, and now this recording is all we have to show of his greatness.