Sam Cooke would have turned 90 on January 22, 2021, but that's not stopping the party from starting a little early! This month, The King of Soul will be celebrated with a new box set featuring five of his albums for the Keen label.

The Complete Keen Years (1957-1960) showcases Cooke's early work as a pop craftsman at the end of the 1950s. At the beginning of the decade, Cooke was a teenage sensation as a member of gospel group The Soul Stirrers. But his interest in R&B and pop could not be denied. After recording a single under the name Dale Cook for Specialty Records, the home of The Soul Stirrers, label head Art Rupe allowed Cooke and producer Bumps Blackwell to continue pursuing a secular audience, but was incensed to find the duo one day recording not rock 'n' roll akin to labelmate Little Richard, but a George Gershwin standard. As tensions mounted, both Cooke and Blackwell decamped to the Keen label, and their first single there, "You Send Me," was a home run, topping Billboard's pop charts for three weeks in 1957.

Cooke recorded three albums for Keen: a self-titled debut (also known as Songs By Sam Cooke), Encore and Tribute To The Lady ("the lady" in this case being Billie Holiday, who died the same year). Those LPs were mostly built around standards from The Great American Songbook and beyond: George Gershwin's "Summertime," Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's "Ol' Man River," and Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer's "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive." For the singles market, though, Cooke was a formidable force, writing much of his own repertoire and focusing on youthful crowd-pleasers on 45. In all, 10 sides followed "You Send Me" to the Top 40, including "I Love You (For Sentimental Reasons)," "Win Your Love For Me," "Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha" and the irresistible "Wonderful World." Shortly before Cooke switched labels yet again, joining the RCA Victor roster, two albums - 1959's Hit Kit and 1960's The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke - collected these single sides. They're presented on The Complete Keen Years along with 15 bonus tracks in total - all uncompiled sides as well as several rare stereo mixes issued as limited edition 45s.

The new box set is accompanied by a booklet featuring rare images plus liner notes by historian Michael Corcoran. Of particular interest to reissue enthusiasts: everything on the set is reportedly sourced from the original, long-lost Keen master reels, recovered in, of all places, an airplane hangar! (This location makes more sense when one considers that Keen co-founder John Siamas was in the music business as more of a side gig, having made his fortune in the aerospace industry.)

The Complete Keen Years is available January 24, part of a planned year-long celebration leading up to his 90th birthday; the same day, new vinyl pressings of Sam Cooke, Encore and Tribute To The Lady will also be available. Pre-order links are all below (Amazon's U.S. listings are not active as of this post's publishing).

The Complete Keen Years (1957-1960) (ABKCO, 2020) (Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Sam Cooke (Keen A-2001, 1957) (LP: Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. You Send Me
2. The Lonesome Road
3. Tammy
4. Ol' Man River
5. Moonlight In Vermont
6. Canadian Sunset
7. Summertime, Pt. 2
8. Around The World
9. Ain't Misbehavin'
10. The Bells Of St. Mary's
11. So Long
12. Danny Boy
13. That Lucky Old Sun

Disc 2: Encore (Keen A-2003, 1958) (LP: Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Oh, Look At Me Now
2. Someday
3. Along The Navajo Trail
4. Running Wild
5. Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive
6. Mary, Mary Lou
7. When I Fall In Love
8. I Cover The Waterfront
9. My Foolish Heart
10. Today I Sing The Blues
11. The Gypsy
12. It's The Talk Of The Town

Disc 3: Tribute To The Lady (Keen A-2004, 1959) (LP: Amazon U.S. (TBD) / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. God Bless The Child
2. She's Funny That Way
3. I've Gotta Right To Sing The Blues
4. Good Morning Heartache
5. Tain't Nobody's Bizness (If I Do)
6. Comes Love
7. Lover Girl (Man)
8. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
9. Lover Come Back To Me
10. Solitude
11. They Can't Take That Away From Me
12. Crazy She Calls Me

Disc 4: Hit Kit (1-12, Keen 86101, 1959) and bonus tracks (13-21)

1. Only Sixteen
2. All Of My Life
3. Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha
4. Blue Moon
5. Win Your Love For Me
6. Lonely Island
7. You Send Me
8. Love You Most Of All
9. (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
10. Little Things You Do
11. Let's Go Steady Again
12. You Were Made For Me
13. Lonely Island (Single Version)
14. Win Your Love For Me (Stereo)
15. Almost In Your Arms (Theme From Houseboat) (Stereo)
16. Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha (Stereo)
17. Little Things You Do (Stereo)
18. Only Sixteen (Stereo)
19. Let's Go Steady Again (Stereo)
20. With You (Stereo)
21. Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh a/k/a Ee-Yi-Ee-Yi-Oh (Stereo)

Tracks 1 and 11 from Keen single 3-2022, 1959
Track 2 from Keen single 3-2005, 1958
Tracks 3 and 10 from Keen single 3-2018, 1959
Tracks 4 and 8 from Keen single 3-2008, 1958
Track 5 from Keen single 3-2006, 1958
Track 7 from Keen single 3-4013, 1957
Track 9 from Keen single 3-4002, 1957
Tracks 12-13 from Keen single 3-4009, 1958
Tracks 14-15 from Keen single 5-2006, 1958
Tracks 16-17 from Keen single 5-2018, 1959
Tracks 18-19 from Keen single 5-2022, 1959

Disc 5: The Wonderful World Of Sam Cooke (1-12, Keen 86106, 1960) and bonus tracks (13-18)

1. (What a) Wonderful World
2. Desire Me
3. Summertime, Pt. 1
4. Almost In Your Arms (Theme from Houseboat)
5. That's Heaven To Me
6. No One (Can Ever Take Your Place)
7. With You
8. Blue Moon
9. Stealing Kisses
10. You Were Made For Me
11. There! I've Said It Again
12. I Thank God
13. Steal Away (Album Version)
14. Deep River
15. One Hour Ahead of the Posse
16. Ee-I-Ee-I-Oh a/k/a Ee-Yi-Ee-Yi-Oh
17. So Glamorous
18. Steal Away (Single Version)

Track 1 from Keen single 8-2112, 1960
Track 2 from Keen single 3-4002, 1957
Track 3 from Keen single 3-4013, 1957
Track 4 from Keen single 3-2006, 1958
Tracks 5 and 12-14 from I Thank God - Keen 86103, 1960
Track 6 from Keen single 8-2111, 1960
Tracks 7 from Keen single 8-2117, 1960
Track 8 from Keen single 3-2008, 1958 (featured on Hit Kit)
Track 9 from Keen single 3-2005, 1958
Track 10 from Keen single 3-4009, 1958 (featured on Hit Kit)
Tracks 11 and 15 from Keen single 8-2105, 1959
Track 16 from Keen single 8-2122, 1960
Tracks 17-18 from Keen single 8-2118, 1960