Sam Miller sings ‘Bring It On Home to Me’
“Years later, hundreds of people would swear they’d been at Pedro’s Cantina the night Sam Miller and Aaron Woodwright first met. But the truth is that the taco-and-beer hangout could hold no more than a few dozen sweaty Steuben College students at a time, even on an Open Mic Wednesday.”
That’s how my new novel, “The Greatest Band that Never Was” begins. Sam Miller proceeds to stun the crowd with his performance of ‘Bring It On Home to Me’. This is how it ‘sounds’:
…And the college crowd went wild, hooting and stomping and jumping and calling for more.
Sam smiled at an imaginary spot on the floor. Aaron was grinning despite himself, clapping along with the audience.
Then, Sam Miller began strumming a series of impassioned, church-tinged chords. “You can sing along here, if you want to,” he mumbled too far from the microphone to be heard. “If you ever change your mind,” he sang, his guitar pounding a forceful, insistent beat. His eyes were closed to the smoky cantina, sweat dripping down his gaunt cheeks. His voice was fierce, gravelly, fervent. “Oh, oh, bring it on home to me.” On the refrain, he called out to the crowd, his eyes closed, his face glowing, and they responded in unison, a choir of young believers. “Yeah! (yeah!), yeah! (yeah!), yeah! (yeah!).”
The three groupies gaped, gripping each other’s hands.
When Sam began the second verse, Aaron joined above him in a joyous harmony, which Sam seemed to have been expecting.
The brunette dug her fingernails into the blonde’s hand so hard that the girl yanked it away, but neither moved her eyes from Sam, his eyes still closed but smiling, his lips touching the microphone, his voice moving the crowd with gospel fervor.
“Bring it on home to me, yeah!” and the whole smoky cantina responded with a delirious “Yeah!”
“Yeah?” Sam challenged them.
“Yeah,” they responded, the frat boys loudest of all.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah!” And the crowd was on its feet, shouting and clamoring and clapping for more. Aaron came forward and put his arm around the guest singer. “SamMiller! SamMiller!” the room chanted. Sam smiled at the floor. The walls of Pedro’s Cantina seemed to heave from the shouting and shrieking and stomping, everyone on their feet, jumping and cheering.
Sam Cooke sings ‘Bring It On Home to Me’
Sam Cooke, ‘Bring It On Home To Me’
Sam Cooke, ‘Bring It On Home To Me’, Live at the Harlem Square Club
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, ‘You Really Got a Hold On Me’, live video
Historical Injustice
For years I believed that Sam Cooke’s ‘Bring It On Home To Me’ was a derivative cover of Smokey Robinson’s ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me’. And I’m here today to make a public confession that I was wrong and thus to try to right that heinous injustice: Sam Cooke’s version came first,.
‘BIOHTM’ was released on May 8, 1962 as the B-side of ‘Having a Party’ on the RCA label.
‘YRGAHOM’ was released on November 9, 1962 on the Tamla label, a subsidiary of Motown.
It wasn’t an outrageous mistake, merely a mischronicalization by half a year. Smokey himself admits that ‘YRGAHOM’ was fashioned as an emulation of ‘BIOHTM’.
So there. I’m sorry, Sam. But I guess I don’t really need to worry about it too much, since the half century since Cooke’s death at 33 in 1964 (shot by a lady motel manager whose room he had broken into and was allegedly trying to assault) has been very kind to his reputation. He commands the greatest respect imaginable, especially as a vocal stylist. Van Morrison readily admits that his whole approach to singing is modeled after Cooke’s. Rod Stewart often sounds like a bleached version of Cooke. You can’t imagine Otis Redding or Marvin Gaye without Cooke’s precedent. And that’s only the start of a very long list.
But that’s not his only achievement. He’s considered one of the finest gospel singers of the 1950s. In 1958 he crossed the line from the sacred world of hoot-and-shout gospel to the profane world of string-backed, hormone-soaked teenage carnal love with one of the biggest hits of the decade, ‘You Send Me’. Over the next few years until his death he had a string of memorable pop hits (‘Cupid‘, ‘Wonderful World’ later covered by James Taylor/Paul Simon/Art Garfunkel, among many others) as well as hits that in retrospect were trailblazing steps into what would become soul music (‘Shake‘, ‘Ain’t That Good News’, and the immortal ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’). He was a political rebel, promoting black consciousness and pride, founding his own record company to fight the repressive, commercialized (white) music distribution business.
Bring It on Home to You Really Got a Hold
This week we’re going to confine ourselves to these two fine companion pieces, ‘BIOHTM’ and ‘YRGAHOM’.
They’re both written by the very first black singer-songwriter auteurs in the pop idiom. They both reach back into the artist’s gospel roots, using the black Baptist church’s call-and-response format in a secular R&B song. And then looking around to write this, I discovered another very striking similarity–both were clearly toned down, sweetened up and bowdlerized for the Top 40 (white teenage) market, but both have a well-known raw, soulful version that puts the more popular version in a much clearer light.
Here’s Smokey Robinson & The Miracles hit record of ‘You’ve Really Got a Hold On Me’. And here’s a live version of the song, typical slick Motown, very much reflecting the spirit of the recorded version. It’s from the (Wonder Bread-white) TV show Shindig; Smokey and the guys are wearing tuxedos, and the dancing is typical 1964-vintage Motown. And here’s a cooler clip from 1963. Apparently Motown didn’t have choreographers yet to polish the dancing, and Smokey’s tie is undone. His performance here is more James Brown than David Ruffin.
While we’re here, how can we not mention The Beatles’ cover? And how about this super-cool cover by The (Dixie) Chicks?
And here’s Sam Cooke’s inadvertently maligned ‘Bring It On Home To Me’. Here’s the hit record version of the song. The second voice here is the uncredited, then-unknown Lou Rawls! Ernie Freeman plays piano. And here it is live in front of a black audience at the Harlem Square Club in Miami, 1963. I’ve heard this song many times, by many artists. But I certainly never experienced it as I did when I heard this very, very raw and real version.
Among the countless artists who have covered the song are Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Paul McCartney (twice), John Lennon, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, and Aretha Franklin. So I’m not sure that Sam Cooke really needs rehabilitation from me. Still, it’s my privilege and pleasure to join the choir. So I guess I learned two things this week. First of all, that Sam Cooke takes a back seat to no one, not even to Smokey Robinson. Secondly, and much more important as a practical lesson for the future–the sweetest fruits are often those closest to the roots.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like:
152: Sam Cooke, ‘A Change is Gonna Come’120: Sam Cooke, ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’
136: James Taylor, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel – ‘Wonderful World’
028: Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, ‘The Tracks of My Tears’
159: Smokey Robinson, ‘Ooh, Baby Baby’
160: Smokey Robinson & Aretha Franklin, ‘Ooh Baby, Baby’ (Live)
There are a few more points of corrections you need to concede in regards to Sam Cooke’s life and early death. Please read “Our Uncle Sam” by Erik Greene. You will be given some very candid insight into the man and his life.
Thanks! The video of “A Change is Gonna Come” has been removed–
Great singer, great band, great night, great sound engineering, great crowd. This clip gives me goosebumps so hard I can use my forearms as wirebrushes. Thank you.
Great posting. (1) Regarding what you called the unperfected dancing: I never liked the dancing that those Motown groups did. I always found them very corny. (2) I liked the live versions of the songs you supplied. A live performance in front of any audience is bound to be a livelier than a recording but maybe you’re right that Sam Cooke’s dramatic intro at Harlem Square Club has more growl in it because it was in front of a black audience. To be honest, it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen whom, I am sure, would be willing to acknowledge the source.
Tnx
Back again 4 years later. Ironically, I was doing a search on YouTube yesterday for You Really Got a Hold On Me. I didn’t see Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Sonny Terry or Aretha Franklin. Gotta go back and check again. But I just checked the Wicked Pickett and I couldn’t find it. Best wishes in the secular new year.