Don’t know much about history
Don’t know much biology
Don’t know much about a science book
Don’t know much about the French I took
But I do know that I love you.
And I know that if you love me too –
What a wonderful world it would be.
Sam Cooke possessed one of the most soulful, golden, angelic voices popular music has known. And in a too-brief period between 1957 and 1964, he used it to write, perform and record songs that would ease themselves into the soundtracks of our lives. Along the way, he helped change the course of music.
With songs like his swoony debut single and breakthrough No. 1 hit “You Send Me,” and others including “Wonderful World,” “Cupid,” and “For Sentimental Reasons,” Cooke gave us dreamy music to fall in love by. With “Twistin’ the Night Away” he got us dancing. With “Chain Gang” he was already asking us to consider social justice (inside an irresistible beat). Three years later he gave us his epic “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The song become the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement, remains a quietly powerful force, and sits at the No. 3 spot on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Later this month (Apr 23-25), we celebrate Cooke’s extraordinary music and legacy in an all-new Lyrics & Lyricists show, “You Send Me: The Songs and Soul of Sam Cooke.” The show is conceived by and features award-winning actor and singer Darius de Haas, along with a gifted lineup of vocalists and musicians. De Haas’ Broadway work includes Rent, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carousel, Shuffle Along, and more. He is currently the much buzzed-about singing voice of fictional pop star Shy Baldwin on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, providing vocals that were intended to conjure Cooke and other singers of the late 1950s.
The Lyrics & Lyricists show looks at the man behind the music, exploring Cooke’s rise from local gospel singer to romantic crooner to pop music superstar to creator of a genre that led to his being dubbed the “King of Soul.” It shines a light on the racial barriers Cooke broke, his pioneering work as an entrepreneur as the first Black artist to own a record label, and more. But mostly, it celebrates Cooke’s incomparable music, and brings it gloriously to life.
“Darling, you send me … ” “Cupid, draw back your bow … ” “It’s been a long / A long time coming / But I know a change gonna come … ”
In Sam Cooke’s music the spiritual lives alongside the sensual, the sophisticated with the sweet, protest is coupled with hope. And this complex man captured it all simply:
But I do know that I love you.
And I know that if you love me too –
What a wonderful world it would be.
* * * * *
“You Send Me: The Songs and Soul of Sam Cooke” – Apr 23-25, performances Saturday 7:30 pm, Sunday and Monday 2 pm. In person only!
Major support for 92Y Lyrics and Lyricists is provided by The Hite Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Ellen F. Marcus, Howard and Eleanor Morgan, Suzi and Martin J. Oppenheimer, Lynda and Robert Safron / The Edythe Kenner Foundation. With additional support provided by Karen and Edward Applebome in memory of Theodore Cohn, Gerald J. Grossman, Bruce Horten and Aaron Lieber z”l, Stuart and Barbara Kreisberg, and Arthur Riegel.