"Cupid" | ||||
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Single by Sam Cooke | ||||
B-side | "Farewell My Darling" | |||
Released | May 16, 1961 | |||
Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded |
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Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
Length | 2:30 | |||
Label | RCA 7883 | |||
Writer(s) | Sam Cooke | |||
Producer(s) | Luigi Creatore | |||
Sam Cooke singles chronology | ||||
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"Cupid" is a song by American singer Sam Cooke, released on May 16, 1961. It charted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the Hot R&B Sides chart; the track performed best in the United Kingdom, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. Cooke's producers had asked him to write a song for a girl they had seen on a Perry Como TV show — but once they heard her sing, they kept "Cupid" for Cooke himself. It was Cooke's idea to drop in the sound of an arrow being fired "straight to my lover's heart." Personnel on the recording included Cooke's session regulars Clifton White and Rene Hall on guitar, Clifford Hills on bass, Earl Palmer on drums and Joseph Gibbons on guitar and banjo.
"Cupid" was ranked at number 452 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz described the track as a "perfect pop song" which combines "Latin, R&B, jazz, and mainstream pop elements".