MVP & MV(L)P
This update on our blog will be dedicated to music on CD or LP that has recieved heavy rotation in-house and has caused an increase in traffic to our doorstep. In other words, our Most Valuable Player. We'll play anything that sounds good to our ears. If it's a crowd favorite, it's getting honored on the blog. Our first installment is dedicated to:

With a not so worthy performance at the Copa in the '50's, my man Sam was determined to (in his own words) "Get them motherf****r's". This recording captures two classic performances in July of '64. We came across a large batch of cd's going for a very good price and decided to crack one open just to play in the store and get it out of our system. From the very first time we played "Bill Bailey", one of our regular customer came in from the dry cleaners next door and demanded that she needed two copies. One for her, and one for her man. The performance is, in word, "tight" overall. Sam just seems to take his time. Never missing a note throughtout the cd, he's in total control of his audience. From the swingin' opening track of "Best Things in Life Are Free" to switching effortlessly to more mellow tracks such as "Bill Bailey", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" & "Frankie and Johnny", Mr. Cooke is already in a zone.
How many people today who call themselves entertainers can get a crowd to sing along with them, in full, as Sam Cooke does on "If I had a Hammer" and then let's them sit back and croons to them so graceful as he does on "When I Fall in Love" without sounding out of breath or forced. All I know is that before we got to "Tennesse Waltz", we had sold four more copies withing the hour. It was a no brainer, we kept the cd in the player for the entire weekend. Needless to say, the more Sam Cooke cooked, the more people kept coming in the kitchen. We've had this in house for the past couple of months, and it never seems to fail that people still gravitate towards our store when we play it. Always walking in with a smile. Breaking it down to the lowest common denominator, IT'S JUST GOOD MUSIC! Brother Sam Cooke, your music lives at Memory Lane.



