Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke

A revealing portrait of the influential gospel singer and songwriter covers his early experiences as a choir boy, the impact of the civil rights movement on his career, and the mystery surrounding his death, in an account that also describes his relationships with several contemporaries.

"[I]t is hard to imagine a more thorough or devoted account than the one Guralnick has given us." - (Bookforum, 11/30/05)

"Guralnick seems to have interviewed everyone who ever knew Cooke....[He] scrupulously documents the sharp suits, luxury cars, generous women, earthy language and Olympian rivalries that drove the scene....[He] is an insightful and patient listener, divining the subtleties that unite Sam's deep music with the shallow...." - (New York Times Book Review, 11/20/05)

"Guralnick writes prose like Cooke wrote songs, with a minimum of outward fuss belying a fanatical attention to detail." - (Ruminator Review, 11/30/05)

"The author is equally at home with the fine points of the gospel road, the machinations of the record industry and the sweeping political and racial tumult that was a backdrop to Cooke's meteoric career." - (Kirkus, 7/15/05)

"The detailed descriptions of [Cooke's] recordings throughout this masterful biography are the next best thing to wearing headphones while you read....Guralnick's revelation of the complicated man behind the music ultimately enables readers to rediscover songs like 'A Change Is Gonna Come' as even more remarkable than before." - (Publishers Weekly, 7/25/05)

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