Hit Parade | Don’t Know Much About History, Part 2

Podcast: Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia
Host: Chris Molanphy (Slate Podcasts)
Date: April 2, 2021

Episode Overview

In this episode, Chris Molanphy resumes his deep dive into the career and legacy of soul legend Sam Cooke, focusing on Cooke’s impact on pop and R&B charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Through storytelling and chart analysis, Molanphy fact-checks the 2020 film One Night in Miami and explores how Cooke’s artistry, business acumen, and social conscience shaped the course of American music—leading up to his enduring masterpiece, “A Change Is Gonna Come.” The episode weaves together historical context, notable collaborations, covers, and the ongoing cultural resonance of Cooke’s work.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Sam Cooke’s Chart Evolution and Social Conscience

• Cooke’s transition to secular music: Cooke moved from gospel stardom to pop and soul, finding a wider audience by blending genres.
• First wave of classic hits: Songs like “Wonderful World,” “Chain Gang,” and “Cupid” marry catchy melodies with significant lyrical content.
  • “Chain Gang” (01:41): Business savvy and social commentary wrapped in an infectious pop song, inspired by the sight of a real chain gang.
    • “Chain Gang was a jaunty, joyous tune disguising a truly despairing topic—prison labor and, by implication, the mass incarceration of African Americans.” (01:47, Chris Molanphy)
• Artistic innovation: Cooke’s songwriting melded pop, Latin, R&B, and jazz. “Cupid” reached No. 17 on the pop charts—a crossover success. (03:39)

2. Black Entrepreneurship & SAR Records

• Formation of SAR Records (05:02): Cooke, J.W. Alexander, and Roy Crane built SAR as a haven for Black artists—preceding Motown’s success.
  • Cooke’s argument, dramatized in One Night in Miami:

    "Hell I’m not. I got the masters to my songs. I started a label. I’m producing tons of black artists..." (06:09, “Sam Cooke” in the film)

• SAR’s musical innovations: Supported acts like his former group, The Soul Stirrers, with songs like “Stand By Me Father” (06:49), influencing Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.”
  • Molanphy notes, “King adapted that refrain...turned it into the immortal 1961 smash, Stand By Me.” (08:20)

3. The Charts & Cultural Impact

• Cooke as a pop chart force: Surpassed only by Elvis on RCA Records; renowned for party tracks like “Twistin’ the Night Away” (10:01) and for deeply felt ballads such as “Bring It On Home to Me.”
• Unheralded depth: Pushback against One Night in Miami’s suggestion that Cooke’s work through 1964 lacked substance.
  • “The thing is, Sam’s music was deep.” (12:20, Chris Molanphy)
• Allusions to Civil Rights: Referencing Odetta and folk music, Molanphy explains how Cooke subtly embedded social commentary into love songs. Example: “You know I’ll always be your slave, till I’m buried, buried in my grave…” (14:51, lyric from “Bring It On Home to Me”).

4. 1963: Triumphs, Tragedies, and Artistic Growth

• Diverse hits: “Another Saturday Night,” “Frankie and Johnny,” “Little Red Rooster” (15:52–17:12)—demonstrate Cooke’s versatility.
• Harlem Square Club live recording: Captured Cooke’s command of Black club audiences (18:52), later acknowledged as a live classic.
• Personal loss: The tragic drowning of his son Vincent shadows his work and infuses Night Beat with melancholy and emotional depth.
  • “An unmistakable melancholy infused songs like ‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen,’ ‘I Lost Everything’...” (21:34, Chris Molanphy)

5. Ain’t That Good News and the Rise of "A Change Is Gonna Come"

• Album rooted in tradition: The title track references Black spirituals and was charting as the Beatles arrived in America (22:18–23:15).
• The British Invasion connection: Story of the Valentinos’ “It’s All Over Now,” the Stones’ cover, and the business side of rights and royalties—fact-checked by Molanphy.
  • “That’s our song, man. But I get the final say. I give the Rolling Stones permission...every time some white girl buys a copy of that single, she put money into my pockets. Our pockets.” (24:56, dramatized Sam Cooke)
• Fact vs. fiction: The real chart peaks and timing of the Stones vs. Valentinos versions are corrected (25:54–27:32).

6. The True Story Behind "A Change Is Gonna Come"

• Debunking cinematic myths: Contrary to One Night in Miami, Cooke was inspired and moved to write protest songs by Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind”—not shamed into action by Malcolm X.
  • "He was so carried away with the message, writes Cooke biographer Peter Guralnick, and the fact that a white boy had written it, that he was almost ashamed not to have written something like that himself." (32:17, Chris Molanphy)
• Song genesis: After the March on Washington and Mahalia Jackson’s inspiring performance, Cooke writes “A Change Is Gonna Come”—a personal and political anthem (34:09).
• Lasting legacy: Released posthumously as a B-side; became Cooke’s signature protest song and an anthem for civil rights.

7. Sam Cooke’s Death and Enduring Influence

• Cooke’s tragic end (39:55–41:40): Killed in a mysterious incident; his death compared to later tragedies in Black music history (e.g., Tupac, Biggie).
• Posthumous releases and covers:
  • “Shake” and “A Change Is Gonna Come” both became chart hits (41:43).
  • “A Change Is Gonna Come” influences later R&B, soul, and pop artists—evident in the work of James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Rod Stewart, Cat Stevens, and the Spinners (43:53–47:03).
  • 2020 DNC: Jennifer Hudson performs “A Change Is Gonna Come,” showing the song’s ongoing relevance.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On social conscience in pop music:
  • “Chain Gang was a jaunty, joyous tune disguising a truly despairing topic—prison labor and, by implication, the mass incarceration of African Americans.” (01:47, Chris Molanphy)
• On Black entrepreneurship:
  • “Cook really did see his work at SAR as a form of advocacy.” (06:23, Chris Molanphy)
• On One Night in Miami and historical accuracy:
  • “The thing is, Sam’s music was deep...Malcolm is playing songs by Sam that date back six to seven years...and ignores Cook’s hits during those seven years, like ‘Chain Gang.'” (12:20, Chris Molanphy)
• On Cooke’s inspiration from Dylan:
  • “He was so carried away with the message, writes Cooke biographer Peter Guralnick, and the fact that a white boy had written it, that he was almost ashamed not to have written something like that himself.” (32:17)
• On “A Change Is Gonna Come”:
  • “It was a song both more personal and more political, a song that vividly brought to mind a gospel melody, but that didn’t come from any spiritual number in particular, one that was suggested both by the civil rights movement and by the circumstances of Sam’s own life.” (34:23, Chris Molanphy)
• Cooke’s influence after death:
  • “As great as all of these Sam Cooke compositions are, the song that generations of singers have returned to is ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’ It is a soul song in every sense of that word, a masterclass in soul singing that demands much of its performer and a laying bare of its writer’s soul at a vital moment in America’s history.” (46:23, Chris Molanphy)

Key Timestamps

• 01:41 — “Chain Gang” and its social context
• 03:39 — “Cupid” and genre-blending songwriting
• 05:02 — Formation of SAR Records
• 06:09 — One Night in Miami dramatization: Cooke and Malcolm X
• 08:20 — SAR’s influence on “Stand By Me”
• 10:01 — Cooke’s versatility with “Twistin’ the Night Away”
• 12:20 — Fact-checking Cooke’s artistic depth vs. portrayal in film
• 14:51 — Civil rights subtext in “Bring It On Home to Me”
• 15:52 — 1963’s “Another Saturday Night”
• 18:52 — The Harlem Square Club live performance
• 21:34 — Personal tragedy: death of Cooke’s son and its effect
• 22:18 — “Ain’t That Good News” and Black spiritual tradition
• 24:56 — The Valentinos, Rolling Stones, and music publishing
• 27:32 — Fact-check: Stones and Valentinos chart performance
• 32:17 — The real impact of Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” on Cooke
• 34:09 — Creation and meaning of “A Change Is Gonna Come”
• 39:55 — Cooke’s final album and tragic death
• 41:43 — Posthumous chart successes: “Shake” and “A Change Is Gonna Come”
• 46:23 — Influence and legacy: later covers, 2020 DNC

Conclusion

Chris Molanphy’s episode draws a vivid portrait of Sam Cooke not just as a chart-topping pop craftsman but as a pioneering Black artist-businessman whose work reverberated with social consciousness and personal conviction. He critiques historical inaccuracies in popular film while celebrating Cooke’s real-life innovations—and the way his music, especially “A Change Is Gonna Come,” continues to inspire artists and movements for generations. The episode is rich in detail, song snippets, and historical context, making it an essential listen for anyone interested in the intersections of pop music, Black artistry, and American cultural history.