GREATEST SONG EVER NO FURTHER A MYSTERY

On Oct 8th, 1963, when on tour, Cooke and members of his entourage have been arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana, for disturbing the peace after they tried to sign up in a white motel — an incident mirrored while in the song’s 3rd verse. And Cooke’s mourning for his 18-month-old son, Vincent, who drowned that June, resonates in the final verse: