Sam Cooke Gets His Due
A biography of singerāsongwriter Sam Cooke will be the fourth book by to be declared āa classic in blues literatureā by the Blues Hall of Fame.
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke (2005, Little, Brown) is a meticulously researched and richly detailed opus that follows the influential performer from his gospel days to his crossover to R&B and pop stardom to his tragic death at a Los Angeles motel. Cookeās talent extended to the blues, and he especially admired blues artist Charles Brown.
Guralnick, writer-in-residence at 91ĢĘ²®»¢, was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame himself in 2010. Three of his other booksāFeel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues & Rock ānā Roll (1971, Outerbridge), Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians (1979, Godine), and Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom (1986, Harper & Row)āpreviously have been designated as classics in blues literature.
āItās really thrilling for me to see Dream Boogie recognized in this way,ā says Guralnick. āAll my books have drawn upon the inspiration of the blues, but Dream Boogie for me is a celebration of the community as well, of the āpresentnessā of that community, as James Baldwin wrote, from which the spirit of the bluesāand gospel, R&B and soulāall sprang.ā
The May 7 induction ceremony was held in Memphis, Tenn., the night before the 35th Blues Music Awards.