Every song I’ve considered playing for the past hour, I have already played too recently for a redux.  And anyway, I’ve been re-duxing entirely too much of late.  I was chatting with a friend the other evening and the subject of Sam Cooke came up, so I went in search of a Sam Cooke favourite that I haven’t already worn out here.  And I found one!  I literally did a happy dance … well, okay, it was more a sigh of relief, since it’s late and I am too exhausted to dance at the moment.

Sam Cooke wrote this song, but gave the writing credit to his younger brother L.C. because he did not want his own publisher to profit from the song.

According to Songfacts …

“Cooke was signed to Specialty Records, which was a gospel label. Cooke’s producer, Bumps Blackwell, brought this to Art Rupe, who owned the label. Rupe objected to the use of the choir on this track and was afraid it was too secular and would alienate the label’s gospel fans. He offered Cooke a release from his contract in exchange for outstanding royalties. The song was passed to the Keen label where it sold over 2 million copies.”

I did not know that Aretha Franklin released her own version of this as a B-side in 1968, but naturally I had to listen.  As much as I love Aretha Franklin, I preferred Sam Cooke’s version, but since mine is not the only opinion that counts, I am offering both tonight.

Tragically, at only 33 years of age, Cooke was shot in the chest by Bertha Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California on December 11, 1964. Franklin claimed that she acted in self-defense after he broke into her office residence and attacked her. Her account was immediately disputed by Cooke’s acquaintances. It’s a long and strange story, still an unsolved mystery

You Send Me was named as one of the 500 most important rock and roll recordings by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In April 2010, the song ranked No. 115 in Rolling Stone magazine’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.  The song reached #1 in the U.S. and #29 in the UK.

You Send Me
Sam Cooke

Darling, you send me
I know you send me
Darling, you send me
Honest, you do, honest, you do
Honest, you do, whoa

You thrill me
I know you, you, you thrill me
Darling, you, you, you, you thrill me
Honest, you do

At first I thought it was infatuation
But, woo, it’s lasted so long
Now I find myself wanting
To marry you and take you home, woah-woah

You, you, you, you send me
I know you send me
I know you send me
Honest you do

Whoa, oh, oh, whenever I’m with you
I know, I know, I know when I’m near you
Mm hmm, mmm hmm, honest, you do, honest, you do
Woah, oh, oh, I know oh, oh, oh

I know, I know, I know, when you hold me
Woah, whenever you kiss me
Mm, hmm, mm, hmm, honest you do

At first I thought it was infatuation
But, woo, it’s lasted so long
Now I find myself wanting
To marry you and take you home

I know, I know, I know you send me
I know you send me
Woah, oh, you, you, you, you send me
Honest you do.

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Sam Cooke
You Send Me lyrics © Burlington Music Co., Ltd