"You Send Me" is a 1957 single by R&B singer-songwriter
Sam Cooke. The song was his first secular single released
through Keen Records, an imprint of RCA Victor Records. (His
first non-gospel single, "Lovable," was released earlier that
year under a pseudonym.) Released in September 1957, the record
became an instant hit, topping the charts on both the
BillboardPop and R&B singles charts. The record
established Cooke as a mainstream R&B singer, apart from
his gospel roots.
At the same time a rendition was also released by Teresa
Brewer, which reached #8 on the pop charts.
Since its release, the song has become a landmark record of
the soul genre, which Cooke helped create. It was named as one
of the 500 most important rock and roll recordings by the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame. In 2005, the song was voted #115 by
representatives of the music industry and press in
Rolling Stonemagazine's
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song has been covered by a number of artists, including
Nat King Cole, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers, José
Feliciano, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Otis Redding, Sam
& Dave, Percy Sledge, Van Morrison, Steven Houghton and the
Steve Miller Band. In the United Kingdom, Rod Stewart released
this song as part of a medley with "Bring It on Home to Me" and
charted it on the UK Singles Chart at #7 as a double A-side
with "Farewell". The Dixie Chicks released their version of the
song on their 1992 independent release, "Little Ol'
Cowgirl".