Previous entries in
Ace
's
Black America Sings
series have focused on
Bob Dylan
and
the Beatles
, but also
Otis Redding
-- a singer/songwriter who shows up on
Bring It on Home: Black America Sings Sam Cooke
singing "Shake," a song that became more identified with
Otis
than
Sam
. This alone suggests how great
Cooke
's legacy is: he wove his way into the very fabric of pop culture, quite clearly influencing generations of soul and rock singers, but also shaping how R&B could cross over into pop, along with the parameters of how black musicians could set up their own independent enterprises in the music business.
SAR
label has been documented elsewhere and, unsurprisingly, some of the acts show up on this 24-track set, but
Bring It on Home
has greater ambitions than to round up
-associated acts. Certainly, there are some here -- including
Bobby Womack
's funky 1970 rendition of "I'm Gonna Forget About You,"
the Soul Stirrers
, and
Lou Rawls
-- but this taps into the smooth strut of his crossover pop, the grit of his gospel, his easy touch with a love song, and his sly ways of breaking down borders, both musical and sociological. As this compilation rolls on, skipping between symphonic singles recorded while
was alive and rawer sides from the late '60s and early '70s, what impresses is how far and wide
's influence resonates. Before
Motown
, he was the one singer who figured out how to bridge the gap not only between the church and the street, but the street and the supper club, all the while without losing touch with his roots. He didn't sell out, he bought in, and by hearing all these wonderful artists who followed his path --
Johnnie Taylor
,
Eddie Floyd
Smokey Robinson
Brenton Wood
Aretha Franklin
the Supremes
Sam & Dave
-- it becomes apparent just how important he was. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine