Photo Credit: Jess Rand / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images
Samuel Dale “Sam” Cook
(January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964)
Singer, songwriter, producer and music publisher entrepreneur.
He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931. He was the fifth of eight children of the Rev. Charles
Cook, a minister in the Church of Christ (Holiness), and his wife, Annie Mae. The family relocated to
Chicago in 1933. Cooke attended Doolittle Elementary and Wendell Phillips Academy High School in
Chicago.
Sam Cooke’s extraordinary voice and unforgettable melodies appealed to black and white audiences,
and the popularity of his music helped introduce many other black performers to mainstream
audiences. His music expanded from its gospel roots into more mainstream R&B and pop genres while
managing to keep the interest of many among his core gospel following. Cooke was also a force in
harnessing the power of music for a socially conscientious cause. He recognized both the growing
popularity of the early folk-rock balladeers and the changing political climate in America, using his own
popularity and marketing savvy to raise the conscience of his listeners with such classics as “Chain Gang”
and “A Change is Gonna Come.” Cooke had 30 U.S. top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964.
Heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay views the body of soul singer Sam Cooke at his wake in Chicago. (Photo Credit: Bettmann / Getty Images)
Police said Mrs. Bertha Lee Franklin, 55, fired the shot that killed Sam Cooke when he kicked in the door of her apartment. (Photo Credit: Bettmann / Getty Images)
Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive
vocals and importance within popular music. He began singing as a child and joined The Soul Stirrers
before moving to a solo career where he scored a string of hit songs like “You Send Me”, “Wonderful
World”, “Chain Gang”, and “Twistin’ the Night Away”.
His pioneering contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al
Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, and popularized the likes of Otis
Redding and James Brown. On December 11, 1964, at the age of 33, Cooke was shot and killed by Bertha
Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California where she shot him three times
in the torso and beat him with a broom stick till he died. After an inquest, the courts ruled Cooke’s
death to be a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been called into
question by Cooke’s family. She also won a $30,000 lawsuit against the estate for mental anguish which
occurred after the incident.
Awards and Honors:
In 1986, Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1987, Cooke was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
On February 1, 1994, Cooke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to
the music industry, located on 7051 Hollywood Boulevard.
In 1999, Cooke was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2004, Rolling
Stone ranked him 16th on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
In 2008, Cooke was named the fourth “Greatest Singer of All Time” by Rolling Stone.
In June 2011, the city of Chicago renamed a portion of East 36th Street near Cottage Grove Avenue as
the honorary “Sam Cooke Way” to remember the singer near a corner where he hung out and sang as a
teenager.
In 2013 Cooke was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, at
Cleveland State University. The founder of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame Museum, LaMont
Robinson, said he was the greatest singer ever to sing. The Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame Museum
will be built in Cooke’s hometown of Clarksdale, MS.
Sam Cooke Music
Songs by Sam Cooke (1957)
Encore (1958)
Tribute to the Lady (1959)
The Wonderful World of Sam Cooke (1960)
Cooke’s Tour (1960)
Hits of the 50’s (1960)
Swing Low (1961)
My Kind of Blues (1961)
Twistin’ the Night Away (1962)
Mr. Soul (1963)
Night Beat (1963)
Ain’t That Good News (1964)
Sam Cooke at the Copa (1964)