Positive Songs For Negative Times #23: Sam Cooke

Before turning 81 in a few weeks time, Dion DiMucci has just released his latest record, Blues With Friends, a duets album teaming him with a fine selection of collaborators - Bruce, Patti and Stevie Van Zandt, Van The Man, Jeff Beck, even Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. At this stage in his career, you might expect him to rely on covers or re-recordings of old songs, but Dion wrote most of these tunes fresh, and this one in particular stopped me in my tracks when I heard it last week.

Song For Sam Cooke (Here In America) tells the story of when Dion went on tour with Sam Cooke in the 60s and considering what's going on in the world right now, it's the most relevant tune I've heard all week. Paul Simon duets here, though it's really just harmonies, and he doesn't appear in the video.

We travelled this land back in nineteen sixty-two

We played the places that were home to me and you

We drove to Memphis, we rocked a set

We walked the streets at night and smoked a cigarette

Here in America

There was so much I didn't know

About the way that life could go

Here in America

Down the block I saw the people stop and stare

You did your best to make a Yankee boy aware

I never thought about the colour of your skin

I never worried 'bout the hotel I was in

Here in America

But the places I could stay

They all made you walk away

You were the man who earned the glory and the fame

But cowards felt that they could call you any name

You were the star, standing in the light

That won you nothing on a city street at night

Here in America

Do you want to know the craziest thing about my reaction to this song? I think it's Dion's version of This Is America by Childish Gambino, one of the only contemporary hits to make it into my record collection in many a year. I know their messages are different and they come from very different places, but they have more in common than just the title.

You can't have equality without also recognising diversity.