"Somebody Have Mercy" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

, originally released in April 1962 on the album '' Twistin' the Night Away''.

Background

One line in the song ("Tell me what is wrong with me") created speculation and rampant rumors that Cooke was suffering from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

, which was false.Guralnick, Peter (2005). ''Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke''. New York:

Back Bay Books Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...

, p. 419. First edition, 2005.

Personnel

"Somebody Have Mercy" was recorded on February 15, 1962 at RCA Studio 1 in Hollywood, California. The musicians also recorded much of the ''Twistin' the Night Away'' album the same day. The session was conducted and arranged by René Hall, producers were Hugo & Luigi. Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

to the 2003 compilation '' Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964''. *Sam Cooke –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Edward Beal – piano

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

"Somebody Have Mercy" was later selected for the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the single " Nothing Can Change This Love", which was released on September 11, 1962. It received enough airplay to make the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts on its own, peaking at No. 3 R&B and No. 70

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

References

{{Authority control 1962 singles Sam Cooke songs Songs written by Sam Cooke 1962 songs Song recordings produced by Hugo & Luigi Soul ballads RCA Victor singles