SAM COOKE recorded Live at the Harlem Square Club on January 12, 1963.
Although it is now considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, Live at the Harlem Square Club sat in the vaults at RCA until 1985. Why? In 1963, concert audiences were not integrated. You can hear the African-American crowd on this album. The boisterous crowd having a great time with Sam. Sam feeds off the crowd. There is a gospel call & answer feel to much of this recording. With the crossover success of Sam Cooke's ballads like "Cupid" and "You Send Me", perhaps the record company was looking for a "safe" live album, something Episcopalian. What they got was Pentecostal.
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