BBC - Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music (2005) Part 2 The Gospel Highway Sam Cooke

This foot-stomping six-part series - made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed “Lost Highway”, “Walk on By” and “Dancing in the Streets” series - charts the evolution of soul music, with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. In the words of its greatest performers, producers and songwriters, “Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music” is a search through time and place for the roots of black music, the genetic blueprint for nearly all other forms of modern popular music. From rhythm & blues, soul, Motown, funk and hip hop, we learn the story of the rise…and further rise of black music—the biggest single influence on global popular culture today. “Soul Deep” is the story of the beat that made the dance floor jump, the sax that made ears ring and the songs that made us laugh and cry. It's the story of legends like James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, and of the music that changed the world. Central to the rise of soul music as a global phenomenon was the independent record labels, from Stax Records in Detroit to Atlantic Records in New York. The importance of the producer in record making is exemplified by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, who single-handedly managed to create the most prolific 'music-making factory' the world has ever seen, producing artists such as The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and The Jackson 5. Now, after years of struggle for mainstream acceptance, soul music is one of the biggest musical genres in the world and a billion-dollar industry. This landmark documentary reveals how black music has achieved the enviable position of not having to compromise on its 'blackness' or its attitude.

Part 2 The Gospel Highway Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke was gospel music's crown prince, the man who inspired a generation of singers when he took on the pop world and won. In the process he became soul music's first superstar. This episode follows Sam Cooke's career as he made the transition from gospel to pop, and profiles some of the artists who followed him The Staple Singers, Ben E King, Solomon Burke and Johnnie Taylor. By busting open the ivory doors of the pop tower, these artists became the bridge that established the gospel shout as a lasting sound in American music. The Gospel Highway explores the two different worlds that divided the world of Black music before and after that revolutionary moment in 1957 - the year Sam Cooke went pop. It investigates the intriguing, enigmatic 'Gospel Highway' circuit, then enters the bright, fresh, sequined world of late 1950s and early 1960s pop. In his short life, Sam Cooke would dominate both. Interviewees include Bobby Womack, Solomon Burke, Ben E King, LC Cooke (Sam's brother), Candi Staton, the Fairfield Four, Mavis Staples and Peter Guralnick.

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