"You Send Me" - Trombone Shorty

“You Send Me” (PDF) from the James & Troy Andrews album, 12 & Shorty

Sam Cooke’s first hit song, “You Send Me,” showcases the voice that transformed gospel music into soul music. Birthed from the southern Black church choirs and relocated to northern cities as a result of the Great Migration, doo-wop music was both an extension of rhythm & blues and a cousin to rock & roll, preferring the vocal traditions and solemn tempos of Sunday morning rather than Saturday night. But in the post-war boom of the music industry, record producers saw an opportunity to create a new pop star.

Cooke had success in Chicago singing with The Soul Stirrers, alongside other vocal acts such as Lou Rawls, The Staple Singers, and Bobby Womack (songwriter of the New Orleans standard, “It’s All Over Now”), and was persuaded into recording secular music at New Orleans’ legendary Cosimo Studios in 1956, which produced an early version of “You Send Me” under the pseudonym “Dale Cook.” That following year garnered more acceptance of Sam Cooke’s potential in pop music with the more widely-known version of “You Send Me” performed by L.A. studio musicians, many of whom were originally from New Orleans according to the podcast A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. In his voice, one can hear a resolute grace in defiance of his critics and the determined soul that gave song to the Civil Rights Movement.

Much like the classic recording, the 12 & Shorty version of “You Send Me” showcases the trombone playing that transformed R&B into supafunkrock. Although still inexperienced, Shorty’s performance demonstrates a wisdom of the jazz idiom and a sense of phrasing that is ahead of its time; the change that’s gonna come. Also noteworthy in this ballad is the rhythmic lilt between a straight, swung, and shuffle feel, and the difficulty of maintaining steady phrasing within ample space which stresses the importance of melodic weight.

Here is a YouTube video of Trombone Shorty sitting in with his cousin’s gospel choir:

Recommended reading: Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick. Published by Back Bay Books.