S.O.D. "Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke

1/27/2015     Aahhh to be on a chain gang, well maybe not.  Cooke did however have an experience with one which inspired him to write this song. He was going from one gig to another when him and his brother Charlescame upon the rascals. They sympathized with the men, giving them a boatload of cigarettes.

     It is a R&B/soul mix that ranked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B Sides chart.  A rendition of this called "Chain Gang Medley" was done by Jim Croce and was his last Hot 100 hit.  

     Sam Cooke was referred to as the Father of Soul and thought by many to have invented the genre.  He paved the way for such artists as James Brown, Aretha Franklin Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and a host of others.  Cooke was taken from us at the age of 33 and since, has been inducted into three music Halls of Fame, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and was named by Rolling Stone  magazine as the fourth greatest singer of all time. Many say there is no one to match his vocals and effortless delivery.