GREATEST SONG EVER CAN BE FUN FOR ANYONE

On October 8th, 1963, when on tour, Cooke and users of his entourage had been arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, for disturbing the peace after they tried to sign up at a white motel — an incident reflected during the song’s third verse. And Cooke’s mourning for his eighteen-thirty day period-old son, Vincent, who drowned that June, resonates