Night Beat

'Night Beat' presents Sam Cooke in an intimate, late-night session setting, departing from his pop-oriented string arrangements for a raw, blues-inflected small-group sound. Recorded in three days with a band that included a sixteen-year-old Billy Preston on organ, the spare production highlights the soulful intensity and nuance of Cooke's voice across a collection of blues and spiritual standards. The resulting album is considered a landmark of the soul genre, celebrated for its atmospheric, personal quality and for capturing the pure essence of his vocal artistry.