Legend
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Legend
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This documentary DVD about the life and times of Sam Cooke has been lovingly compiled by Peter Guralnick, the best selling author of the book 'Sweet Soul Music'. Given who the author is you would naturally assume that the story had been thoroughly researched, and you would not be disappointed. The story is told using a cleverly interleaved collage of concert footage, interviews and newsreel film taken at the time. The list of contributors is auspicious to say the least. Besides Cooke's immediate family, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Lou Rawls, Lloyd Price and Lou Adler are all willing to share their reminiscences. Between them they bring a very colourful and personal dimension to Cooke's story. When considering the work of Sam Cooke it would be wrong just to cover his musical achievements. Cooke was far more than just a singer, he was a visionary and also an icon to many black people at the time. The film sympathetically covers how he had to wrestle not only with his conscience, but also family pressures as he moved out of gospel singing to the field of R&B. It was a brave move, because had he failed, it was unlikely that the church music scene would have taken him back. He was also a black entrepreneur of the Berry Gordy mould, and one of the first black men to set up their own publishing and distribution companies. He was also very active politically which manifested itself in his art with anthems such as 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. The film does not just focus on Cooke the entertainer, but on all aspects of his life and is eager to describe his achievements in these other arenas. Unfortunately in his quest to portray Cooke as an icon, Guralnick seems oblivious to his faults. At best he ignores them, at worst he is intent on covering them up. Sam Cooke's death was indeed a sordid affair, and to this day many do not believe the official line. Daniel Wolff in his superb biography of Cooke, "You Send Me" vigorously questions the circumstances surrounding Cooke's death in which he was alleged to have been shot by a hotel managers whilst trying to rape a woman. In the DVD this story is wholly ignored as Guralnick suggests it was all part of a robbery in which Cooke was the victim. Despite this glaring oversight this is none the less a good film as even the monotonous voice of narrator Jeffrey Wright fails to spoil it. |
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Why Not visit the Authors other Website, 'The Alternative Blackpool Website' at http://www.localdial.com/users/jsyedu133/bpool This Site Last Updated 18/05/05
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