‘That’s Where It’s At’: The Last Hit Of Sam Cooke’s Life

‘Sam Cooke’s change from gospel to secular music yielded a exceptional 20 songs that made the R&B Prime 10, six of them No. 1s, in lower than seven years. On September 16, 1964, he was releasing the follow-up to the newest of these chart-toppers, “Good Occasions,” which like lots of his 45s, had a success B-side in “Tennessee Waltz.” Nobody may have guessed that the brand new single can be the final of his lifetime.

The highest facet of the brand new launch was the swinging “That’s The place It’s At,” penned by the nice singer himself with common co-writer J.W. Alexander. Cooke had recorded it a 12 months earlier at RCA Studio in Los Angeles, and it was launched on RCA Victor with the B-side “Cousin Of Mine.” The pairing once more gave him a double chart presence.

Each side of the one grew to become Prime 10 R&B hits, respectively reaching No.6 and No.8. “That’s The place It’s At” didn’t make a lot headway on the pop chart, reaching solely No.93, however “Cousin Of Mine” managed a Prime 40 rating, at No.31. But it was “That’s The place It’s At” that went on to turn out to be the better-known staple of Cooke’s repertoire, helped partially by later covers by associates and collaborators similar to Lou Rawls and Bobby Womack, amongst many others.

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Cooke’s demise on the age of simply 33, the next December, made this the final time he would see his title on the charts. However in January 1965, one more double-sided hit offered one in all his best hours, sadly posthumously, when “Shake” was accompanied by the era-defining “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

“That’s The place It’s At” went on to draw covers by such fellow soul males as Johnnie Taylor, in 1968 and Lou Rawls with Ray Charles, in 1989. Van Morrison lower it as a part of a medley with “So Quiet In Right here” in 1994.

Purchase or stream “That’s The place It’s At” on Portrait Of A Legend.