The All-TIME 100 Albums: Portrait of a Legend 1951

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The All-TIME 100 Albums

4 of 101

By Alan Light Published: November 13, 2006

VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST

ALBUM: Portrait of a Legend 1951 - 1964

YEAR RELEASED: 2003 LABEL: ABKCO Music & Records ARTIST: Sam Cooke

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

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Sam Cooke could sing anything. Within the span of a few months in 1963, he recorded Night Beat, a wonderful collection of Sinatra-style late-night crooning, and Live At The Harlem Square Club, a raw, down and dirty R&B set for a hard-partying crowd. The 31 tracks on Portrait of a Legend impressively capture Cooke's range on a single disc. Beginning with "Touch the Hem of His Garment," his own classic gospel composition, the collection winds through such irresistible hits as "You Send Me," "Cupid," and "(What a) Wonderful World." Cooke's voice, filigreed but never showy, reinvents songs from innocent pop ("Tennessee Waltz") to gutbucket blues ("Little Red Rooster)," climaxing in his incomparable final statement, "A Change is Gonna Come." Many artists are called "legends," but Sam Cooke truly earned this title.