Anatomy of a Classic: Bring It On Home To Me

Sam Cooke is my favorite singer and has been since I was 13-14 years old. While most of my friends were obsessing over U2 and Depeche Mode concert tickets, I was obsessing over Sam Cooke records. While time has mostly vindicated me, even I have to laugh that while I liked The Joshua Tree well enough, given my druthers I would've rather listened to Sam sing, "They Call The Wind Maria." Yeah, I was a blast at keggers.

The one song that stood up and harpooned me in the vital organs was his 1962 hit, "Bring It On Home To Me," the subject of today's analysis. While I wouldn't say it's his greatest song ... "A Change Is Gonna Come" probably deserves that honor ... it's the perfect synthesis of his gospel background and pop aspirations. I was actually a bit shocked to read in Peter Guralnick's bio, Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke, that "Bring It On Home To Me" was based on an earlier composition. In 1959, Charles Brown and Amos Milburn, a pair of blues pianists whose commercial peak was the late '40s/early '50s, duetted on "I Want To Go Home," a song that Sam heard Brown sing in Newport, Kentucky shortly after its release. (For more info on this track and a great summation of Brown's career, check out The B-side: A Celebration Of The Other Side, a great blog devoted to obscure, mostly-R&B 45s).

Charles Brown & Amos Milburn - I Want To Go Home

Listening to the Brown/Milburn duet, one is struck by the obvious lineage. But, comparing the tracks is instructive in that it also reveals Sam's genius for reinvention. Where "I Want To Go Home" is a good, bluesy chunk of coal, Sam refashions it into an unforgettable diamond, a monster of a song, and one worthy of further exploration.

For analytical purposes, I've split "Bring It On Home To Me" into five parts, one for each of its verses. While you'll basically hear the song in its entirety by clicking on the first "play" button and letting the queued segments play through, you may want to listen to the segments individually. I've also taken the liberty of adding the complete song at the end of this post. Folks, you simply can't buy this kind of customer service.

Note: Speaking of customer service, the Sam Cooke legal defense team has removed the mp3s that made this post swing. Contact me by email and I'll hit you with the tracks backchannel.

Bring It On Home To Me - Intro/Verse #1

The song opens with some gospel-flavored piano, as strings and bass subtly linger in the background, and double-time drums push the beat forward. Having listened to this song approximately 500,000 times, I am assured of one thing. The drums are this song's secret weapon. Keep this in mind as we go along.

If you ever change your mind
About leaving, leaving me behind
Baby, bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin'
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah!)

While the drums are the secret weapon, the obvious reason for this tune's classic status is Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls (pictured left). I defy anyone to come up with a better example of harmony singing in the history of recorded music. Look, I love The Boswell Sisters, The Louvin Brothers, Sam & Dave, and Statler & Waldorf as much as the next guy, but they're shooting for the silver medal, if you know what I mean. Sam's raspy tenor has few equals on the best of days, but riding atop Lou's honey baritone? Fuggedaboutit. And when they kick in with the call-and-response "Yeah!" parts? That's not just great, that's lucky to be a member of the human race great.

Bring It On Home To Me - Verse #2

I know I laughed when you left
But now I know I only hurt myself
Baby, bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin'
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah!)

Where the strings were unobtrusive (if not nearly inaudible) in the first verse, they now make their presence known in earnest. Swelling violins jump out at the "I know I laughed" line, giving the song a nice build and some harmonic depth. However, it's the drums that push things along, swinging hard into the third verse with triplets on the snare and giddyups on the ride cymbal. It's a drum sound that recalls the parade syncopations of Earl Palmer, veteran of several Sam Cooke sessions, as well as so many seminal New Orleans R&B records. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if it was actually Earl manning the kit here. In a way, it would be à propos. Earl Palmer spent his entire career in the role of secret weapon, so the fact that he might be directing traffic undercover is perfect.

Bring It On Home To Me - Verse #3

I'll give you jewelry and money, too
That ain't all, that ain't all I'd do for you
Baby if you bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin'
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah!)

The violins go from background swell to lead role in this verse, essentially replacing the piano in that capacity. With the strings up top, the bass down low, and the drums in the pocket, the piano deftly fills holes in the arrangement.

Bring It On Home To Me - Verse #4

You know I'll always be your slave
'Til I'm buried, buried in my grave
Oh honey, bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin'
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah!)

Once again, the bottom shifts subtly as the drums go into a double-time pattern on the ride and what sounds like a half-time pattern on the snare. That rhythmic change is accompanied by the introduction of a saxophone, the horn taking over as the band's lead voice. In just over two minutes and four verses, the song has masterfully, yet almost imperceptibly, undulated rhythmically while slowly building to its harmonic climax. Rene Hall may be the arranger of record, and he no doubt conducted the orchestra, but the gospel arrangement has Sam's fingerprints all over it, showcasing his growing command of the studio. Orchestrated gospel was the sound of the future and while it was being refined at Motown and Stax, it also pointed ahead to the work of Willie Mitchell and Al Green, in some ways the real successors of the Sam Cooke legacy.

While I haven't addressed the lyrics to this point ... mainly because it's a pretty straightforward lost love song ... this verse has always intrigued me. How many black singers in 1962 would've sung about being a slave, even metaphorically? Sure, it could've been a simple, convenient analogy, but what if it wasn't? Remember, we're smack dab in the middle of an increasingly militant civil rights era, Sam is a year removed from refusing to play a segregated Memphis show, and a year away from hearing Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind," and later covering it. And of course, "A Change Is Gonna Come" looms on the horizon. Sam's own background as a gospel singer adds another level of intrigue. Gospel songs, like the spirituals before them, were filled with hidden messages. Codes, if you will. The fact that this was one of Sam's first "pop" songs to openly embrace his gospel roots was probably more coincidental than meta-commentary, but could the use of "slave" have been a code from Sam to his black audience? Mere speculation, no doubt, but not without historical precedent and perfectly in temper with the times.

The lyrics in this verse also provide a sobering reality check, with their reference to being "buried in my grave." Sam (and his fans) obviously couldn't have known at the time, but in less than three years, he would indeed be buried in his grave. As great as this song is on neutral turf, the tragic events surrounding his murder have only given it a sense of gravity above and beyond the initial construction.

Bring It On Home To Me - Verse #5/Outro

One more thing (?), you know I tried to treat you right
But you stayed out, stayed out late at night
But I forgive you, bring it to me, bring your sweet lovin'
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah!)

We enter the song's home stretch with the drums again propelling the beat forward, the violins mirroring their lead part from Verse #3, and the piano filling in gaps as it echoes the snare. The sax reintroduces itself on the fade-out, which is probably the only disappointing thing about this track. It ends a bit too soon. Another 20-30 seconds, with the sax going off in the manner of Sam's buddy, King "Soul Twist" Curtis (pictured above on the Harlem Square cover), would've been badass. And by badass, I mean orgasmic.

Two things are worth mentioning here: 1) This was the singles/AM radio era, so it's not like anyone else was including extended outros on their studio output, and 2) The release of the Harlem Square Club show proved that Sam knew perfectly well how to extend his songs so as to bring his audience to orgasm. So, maybe there is something to be said for leaving us wanting more. Forget what I said about disappointing. I don't know what I was thinking.

Parting Thoughts

Everybody knows that Sam Cooke is one of the greatest singers of all-time. But this track proves that his skills as a producer and arranger ... at least co-arranger ... have, if anything, been historically undervalued. "Bring It On Home To Me" also marked a major turning point in both Sam's career and the direction of black music. Where songs like "Twistin' The Night Away" and "Having A Party" hinted at the gospel fervor, "Bring It" wholeheartedly embraced it. In a sense then, the title works on two levels. While superficially a plea to his departed woman, it could also be read as Sam himself bringing it home. Artists like Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, and James Brown had been bringing the black church into popular music for nearly a decade, but none of them had the gospel bona fides of Sam Cooke. All of them, including Sam, had crossed over from black audiences to white, but only Sam made the crossover from gospel star to pop star, having gained his initial fame as a member of The Soul Stirrers (pictured above). And with the release of "Bring It On Home To Me" he was creating the gospel/pop synthesis known as soul music, becoming the first major star in that genre. The irony, of course, is that it took Sam looking deep into his past to articulate his vision for the future. While he didn't necessarily abandon his white audience, he trusted his instincts that his white audience wouldn't abandon him were he to make his sound "blacker." As the next chapter of his career unfolded, it was clear that his instincts were correct.

And so concludes Anatomy Of A Classic. Now that we've thoroughly examined its constituent elements, let's listen to today's spotlight song in all its unfettered glory. From April 1962, here's Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls bringing soul music to the masses. Enjoy.

Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me

Need Sam?

For those of you new to Sam Cooke, may I recommend Portait Of A Legend: 1951-64. I was lucky enough to turn onto Sam just as The Man And His Music was released, but I think this remastered collection might be superior ... it helps that it's actually in print ... and will serve much the same purpose for a new generation of fans.