Being There : Sam Cooke Tribute : Saturday, Nov. 5 and Sunday, Nov. 6, State Theatre

THE ROCK HALL CONCLUDED its weeklong tribute to soul/gospel pioneer Sam Cooke with two well-attended, star-studded concerts. Saturday’s show spotlighted his well-known pop tunes, while Sunday’s explored his gospel roots with material he wrote and/or performed in his years with gospel vocal groups. While the former concert, which featured Elvis Costello, Peter Wolf, Gavin Degraw and William Bell in its cast and the familiar songs (“Cupid,” “Chain Gang,” “Wonderful World,” etc.) was entertaining, the gospel show pulled out all the stops, generating enthusiastic crowd participation.

It kicked off with a rousing  “A Change Is Gonna Come” by Cleveland’s own 15-voice New Spirit Praise Team, a full-cast version of which had closed Saturday’s show. The performance ended three hours later with everyone joining Aretha Franklin following her spirit-drenched set of testifying, which outdid her rather tepid pop set of the previous evening. That included Solomon Burke, an imposing presence in a sparkly suit seated on a gold chair, Taj Mahal, who captured Cooke’s own versatility with blues (“Little Red Rooster”) and rock (“Twistin’ the Night Away”) on Saturday and gospel (“Wade in the Water”) on Sunday, and the Manhattans, whose gospel set tore the house down. Otis Clay, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Cissy Houston and the Dixie Hummingbirds also did both nights. Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams, former Cooke pal Lou Rawls and Cleveland’s Morning Star Baptist Church Mass Choir rounded out Sunday’s show. Veteran gospel star Leroy Crume guested with the Hummingbirds and Clay, whose version of “Nearer to Thee” was one of the evening’s most incendiary performances. 
Most performers spoke briefly about Cooke, and the Cooke family was copiously recognized. Civil rights activist Julian Bond and actor Morgan Freeman joined Rock Hall CEO Terry Stewart as hosts Saturday,  while local pastors Brenda and Darrell Scott and Earl Preston emceed on Sunday. And Saturday’s show opened with a surprise video greeting from President Bill Clinton that drew cheers from the racially mixed crowd.