Vinyl plays with crackles and some clicks (play-graded). Cover looks great; a few creases near edges; light-scuffing, darker discoloration spots (front/back); tiny surface abrasions and surface impressions on front; writing near top-center and general discoloration on back. Inner-sleeve is plastic. Spine is somewhat readable with wear and developing split near center. Shelf-wear along top/bottom-edge and corners. Opening is crisp with signs of light use and divots. Mono pressing. (Not a cut-out.)
Ain't That Good News was the final studio album by Sam Cooke. Recording sessions for the album took place at RCA Victor's Music Center of the World Studio in February and December 1963 and January 1964. The cover photo was taken by American photographer Wallace Seawell. Ain't That Good News was the final studio album to be issued before his death at the age of 33. With the exception of Another Saturday Night, which had been released as a single early in the previous year, Ain't That Good News comprised the first material that Cooke had recorded in the six months following the drowning death of his 18-month-old son Vincent. The first album that Cooke recorded and released under his new contract with RCA, Ain't That Good News reached No. 34 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The album contains A Change Is Gonna Come, one of Cooke's best-known songs. Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, the song came to exemplify the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960s. The song has gained in popularity and critical acclaim in the decades since its release. Five of the tracks on Ain't That Good News were released as singles.