Written by Lucie E. Campbell, this gospel tune is based on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman found in the Gospel of John. When the woman goes to a well to fetch water, she finds Jesus resting there. Because Jews don't associate with Samaritans, she is surprised when he asks her for water.
After revealing himself as the Son of God, Jesus says he's come to offer people living water that "will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." Biblical scholars explain that the living water symbolizes the Holy Spirit that dwells in believers.
In "Jesus Gave Me Water," the Soul Stirrers, led by a 19-year-old Sam Cook (before he added the 'e' to his surname), sing praise to Jesus for giving them the living water to quench their spiritual thirst.
This was first recorded by Artis Kitchen in 1947 and was covered by several gospel acts, including the Famous Ward Singers and The Pilgrim Travelers, before the Soul Stirrers took it to the studio in 1950.
Lucie E. Campbell was the music director of the US National Baptist Convention. She wrote many other gospel songs, including "Heavenly Sunshine," "He Understands; He'll Say, 'Well Done,'" and "Something Within."
Under the direction of lead singer R.H. Harris, who refashioned the long-running jubilee quartet into a soul-stirring hard gospel group, the Soul Stirrers were on their way to becoming one of the most popular acts of the era. In 1950, however, Harris announced his departure, citing the genre's failing "moral aspects" as the reason.
The group approached Cooke - who was having trouble securing a deal for his own gospel group, the Highway QCs - to take Harris' place. At their first recording session with Cooke, they sang "Jesus Gave Me Water." It became a big hit for the group that spring and re-established their prominent place in the gospel scene.
Cooke's mellifluous vocals stood out from the gospel shouters of the time, and made the Soul Stirrers a hot commodity on the gospel circuit, especially among teenage girls who flocked to catch a glimpse of the handsome singer.
"Sam did it in a different way," Harris, the group's former lead singer, told gospel historian Anthony Heilbut. "He didn't want to be that deep, pitiful singer, like, 'My mother died when I was young,' you know, like Blind Boys, Pilgrim Travelers stuff."
But Cooke's first outing with the Soul Stirrers was a different story. Trying to keep up with the screamers on the bill, he didn't make a very good impression. Luckily, some encouragement from J.W. Alexander (of The Pilgrim Travelers) helped him find his own voice.
Alexander recalled in the book Sweet Soul Music by Peter Guralnick: "I said to Sam, 'Don't you try to holler with these guys. You don't have to. You just be sure you're singing loud enough for people to understand what you're saying. You just be sure they understand you. And if you do that, you can come up behind the screamers and always get the house.'"
By 1956, Cooke had his eye on the pop market, but he didn't want to alienate his gospel fanbase by becoming a secular singer. Adopting the alias Dale Cook, he released the single "Lovable," a pop remake of the gospel song "Wonderful," but his voice was too recognizable to fool anyone. The song didn't fare well, but it opened up a realm of possibility for him outside of the gospel genre.
Surprisingly, it was his pastor father who gave him the push he needed to pursue a path in secular music. Cooke explained, "My father told me it was not what I sang that was important, but that God gave me a voice and musical talent and the true use of His gift was to share it and make people happy."
His first hit single was the chart-topping "
You Send Me" in 1957.
In 2022, the Soul Stirrers' 1950 recording was inducted into the National Recording Registry.
