Ain't That Good News (song)

"Good News"
Single by Sam Cooke
from the album Ain't That Good News
B-side "Basin Street Blues" (RCA 8299 & 1386)
"Little Red Rooster" (RCA 07070)
Released January 22, 1964
Format Vinyl record
Recorded December 20, 1963
RCA Studio, Hollywood, California
Genre R&B, soul
Length 2:30
Label RCA
07070
Writer(s) Sam Cooke
Producer(s) Hugo & Luigi
Sam Cooke singles chronology
"Another Saturday Night"
(1963)		 "Good News"
(1964)		 "Good Times"
(1964)
Audio sample
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"Ain't That Good News", also known as "Good News", is a song written and performed by soul singer Sam Cooke, released on RCA Records in 1964.[1] The song was recorded in three takes for the 1964 album of the same name[2] and reached number eleven on the pop chart, and number one on the Cashbox Magazine's R&B charts as a single.[3] Cooke performed the song live on American Bandstand on April 4 of the same year. It is a modern adaptation of an older gospel song of the same title. Cooke's version was later covered by many acts, such as Otis Rush, The Supremes, Florence Ballard, David Fathead Newman, and King Curtis.

Music

The song was the first piece of new material that Cooke had recorded in the six months following the drowning death of his 18-month-old son Vincent. After reaching a new deal with RCA Records, Sam Cooke received more creative freedom in his work and had chosen a fine line of session musicians to accompany him.[4]

Known for his gospel roots, Sam Cooke often used church influences in his music. "Ain't That Good News" is a secular reworking of an old spiritual. The spiritual's lyrics proclaimed the singer's faith and love for Jesus, built around gospel themes and a slow gospel tempo with an underlying pulsating drive.[5] Sam Cooke, however, transformed the song into an uptempo soulful number with an upbeat horn and rhythm section. Cooke's version has the same feel, passion, and soul as the original, but is about the faith and love of a woman.[6]

Personnel

Credits for the song adapted from album liner notes.[7]

Horn Section
Rhythm Section

References

  1. ↑ Sam Cooke: Good News at Discogs (list of releases)
  2. ↑ "Ain't That Good News album information". Songsofsamcooke.com. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 134.
  4. ↑ Guralnick, Peter (2005). Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 500,528. ISBN 0-316-37794-5.
  5. ↑ Work, J. W. (1940). "Ain't That Good News". negrospirituals.com. Retrieved February 2, 2016. From American Negro Songs.
  6. ↑ Guralnick 2005, pp. 535,537.
  7. ↑ Ain't That Good News reissue liner notes by Hugo & Luigi, Lenne Allik. ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. 2003.

External links

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