The Best of Sam Cooke

The Best of Sam Cooke is the second greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. Produced by Hugo & Luigi, the album was released in 1962 in the United States by RCA Victor. The compilation contains most of Sam Cooke's most well-known hits from 1957 to 1962.

The Best of Sam Cooke
Greatest hits album by Sam Cooke
Released	1962
Genre	Rhythm and blues, dance, soul
Length	31:50
Label	RCA Victor
Producer	Hugo & Luigi
Sam Cooke chronology
Twistin' the Night Away (1962) The Best of Sam Cooke (1962) Mr. Soul (1963)
Singles from The Best of Sam Cooke
"Bring It on Home to Me" Released: May 8, 1962

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
The Rolling Stone Record Guide	[3]

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Ron Wynn gave The Best of Sam Cooke three-and-a-half out of five stars and called it "an above-average greatest hits collection, although no sampler could fully convey Sam Cooke's genius."[4] In Blender magazine, Robert Christgau was more critical, giving it one star and recommending listeners overlook the album in favor of the 30-song compilation Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964.[5]

Track listing

Side one

1. "You Send Me"  – 2:45
2. "Only Sixteen"  – 2:02
3. "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha"  – 2:42
4. "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons"  – 2:38
5. "Wonderful World"  – 2:06
6. "Summertime"  – 2:21

Side two

1. "Chain Gang"  – 2:35
2. "Cupid"  – 2:37
3. "Twistin' the Night Away"  – 2:43
4. "Sad Mood"  – 2:38
5. "Having a Party"  – 2:36
6. "Bring It on Home to Me"  – 2:44

Personnel

• Sam Cooke - vocals
• Lou Rawls - back-up vocals

Notes

1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r33874
2. Blender, Oct. 2005
3. Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 84, 598.
4. Wynn, Ron. "The Best of Sam Cooke [RCA] - Sam Cooke". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
5. Christgau, Robert (October 2005). "Two key Sam Cooke albums, and one redundant one, remember a puzzling soul singer". Blender. Retrieved August 15, 2015.