Good Times
/I first learned about the incomparable, legendary Sam Cooke in a cool way. First of all, I have always had an obsession with older music. I became a Led Zeppelin fanatic in 8th grade, an Aretha lunatic in 10th, and my all-time favorite genre is Motown. My head explodes thinking about what Detroit must have been like at that time, during that natural BOOM in the music industry. Smokey Robinson and the Temptations just hanging out writing tunes and lyrics, sure, no big deal! Oh, look, Diana Ross just walked in. There's this 5 year old named Michael Jackson on the phone, tell him to hold on for five minutes while I finish up in the bathroom. I mean, I can't even deal. Different planet.
Song of the day
Listen to Good Times by Sam Cooke
But I fell head over heels in love with Sam in 2001. I was in the theater watching the movie Ali. The opening scene took place in a nightclub where some guy was putting his guts on the floor, pleading, begging this woman to come home. To Bring it on Home To Me. The raw, desperate emotion nailed me. It was total exposure of the heart. I needed to find out more about that singer. This was pre iTunes😎. When I learned it was Sam Cooke, I felt starving to know more. His music is pure joy, the deepest kind of soul. It touches at the core. When I'm in my kitchen for hours on end, his greatest hits are often my soundtrack. I'm instantly transported to a better time, place, where the world was simpler, and a good, clean, honest lyric was all you needed.
Once I hosted thanksgiving, and just used Sam as my playlist. It felt sweet, homey, lovely, old school. My mother in law was delighted, she looooved this kind of music and was pleasantly surprised I loved it too. So this one is for her. All she ever wanted in life was to have a Good Time.
