Another Saturday Night by Sam Cooke

Album: Ain't That Good News (1963)

Charted: 19 6

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Cooke wrote this when he was touring England in 1962 with Little Richard. Along with many soulful ballads, he wrote a lot of lighter songs like this one ("Good News," "Having A Party," "Twistin' The Night Away"), but did record a heavy political song shortly before his death in 1964: "A Change Is Gonna Come."
Cat Stevens recorded this in 1974 - his version hit US #6. Except for "Morning Has Broken," it's the only Stevens release he did not write himself.
The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll brings us this Sam Cooke moment: Cooke began as a gospel singer in church and replaced the Soul Stirrers' R.H. Harris in 1951. For his first solo onstage, the crowd was skeptical of his ability to fill Harris' absence, but Cooke "... eyes closed and arms outstretched, sang without the rasping delivery or broken vowels of older stylists, avoiding the tentative offering of Harris' Roman tenor. Yet his voice, burrowing and soaring through plaintive dirges, exuding a gentle world-weariness, moved the congregation to a standing ovation."

The album's title, Ain't That Good News, is an allusion to his previous gospel choir roots, as the Biblical gospel is often referred to as "good news" in witnessing and ministering.
This was the first song Cooke released after the tragic drowning death of his son Vincent, who was 18 months old. in the interim, he'd fled town for out-of-town gigs, as many as he could get.

Comments: 6

Techlord from East Coast UsI want to know if Lister in 'Red Dwarf', got his cat's name, 'Frankenstein', from this song. I only know the Cat Stevens version. I didn't even know it was a remake until now (too young). And yes, even tho Victor Frankenstein was the scientist, in common jargon, the monster often goes by just, 'Frankenstein.'
Phil from AustraliaThe reference to Frankenstein in the song "She had a strange resemblance
to a cat named Frankenstein" is not correct. Victor Frankenstein was the fictional scientist in Mary Shelley's novel who created the monster known as "Frankenstein's Monster".
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn June 28th 1963, Sam Cooke performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in New York City...
At the time his original version "Another Saturday Night" was at #38 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it was also its 11th and last week on the chart.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 29th 1974, "Another Saturday Night" by Cat Stevens entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #100; and on October 6th, 1974 it peaked at #6 {for 1 week} and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100...And on September 28th, 1974 it reached #1 {for 2 non-consecutive weeks} on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart...In 1963 Sam Cooke's original version peaked at #10 on May 19th, 1963 on the Top 100 and on June 2nd, 1963 it reached #1 {for 1 week} on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...Jimmy Buffett covered the song in 1993; his version peaked at #74 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart...Cat Stevens, born Steven Demetre Georgiou and aka Yusuf Islam, celebrated his 66th birthday one week ago on July 21st, 2014.
Brianna from Calgary, CanadaThis was also recorded by Jimmy Buffett
Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScCat Stevens' version is good, but i like Sam Cook's version better. It's a fun song.

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