Sam Cooke

Background

Samuel Cook was born on January 22, 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was born to a Baptist minister, Reverend Charles Cook and his wife, Annie Mae. He had seven brothers and sisters. The family migrated to Chicago in 1933.

Education

Sam attended Doolittle Elementary and later Wendell Phillips Academy High School. He began his musical career at the age of nine when he joined a group called ‘The Singing Children’ along with his siblings. At the age of 14 he became a lead singer with the 'Highway QC's.'

Career

Sam Cooke began his career when he was six years old with his siblings. They created a group called 'Singing Children.' At fourteen he became the lead singer of the 'Highway QC's.' In 1950, he became a lead singer of the gospel group 'the Soul Stirrers.' The group recorded gospel songs such as 'Jesus Gave Me Water,' 'How Far I Am From Canaan,' 'Peace in the Valley' and 'One More River' among other gospel songs. He wrote most of the gospel songs that were sang by the group.

After six years with the Soul Stirrers, Cooke began to branch out into secular music. He recorded his first single, 1957's "Lovable," under the pseudonym "Dale Cooke." Later that year, Cooke released his first number one hit, "You Send Me." Music fans loved this ballad so much that it toppled Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" from the top of the charts. Before long he put his crystal-clear, velvet-smooth voice to work on such up-tempo tunes as "Only Sixteen" and "Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha."

In addition to being a talented singer and songwriter, Cooke had business smarts. He established his own publishing company for his music in 1959 and negotiated an impressive contract with RCA in 1960. Not only did he get a substantial advance, but Cooke would also get ownership of his master recordings after 30 years. Getting this was a remarkable feat for any recording artist at the time. He continued to be a pioneer behind the scenes, founding his own record label in the early 1960s. Working with other artists on his label, Cooke helped develop the careers of Bobby Womack and Billy Preston, among others.

More hits followed Cooke's move to RCA, including 1960's "Chain Gang." Behind the song's catchy rhythm mimicking the sound of prisoners breaking rocks, the song also served as social commentary by Cooke. He continued to win over fans with a variety of musical styles, from the 1960 ballad "Wonderful World" to the 1962 dance track "Twistin' the Night Away." In 1963, Cooke once again charted with his ode to loneliness, "Another Saturday Night."

Some posthumous releases followed, many of which became hits, including "A Change Is Gonna Come," an early protest song which is generally regarded as his greatest composition.

Achievements

• 

  Sam Cooke is considered "The Father" of soul music and was immensely popular in both the black and white communities. This intelligent performer was not only the overseer and manager of the business side of his own career but founded his own record label and publishing company. He was a brilliant composer who wrote most of the songs used in his performances.
  
  Sam Cooke's single 'You Send Me' received huge commercial success. It topped Billboard 's R&B Records chart and Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also ranked No.115 in Rolling Stone magazine's 'The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time' in April 2010.
  
  His single 'Twistin' the Night Away' won the first position in Billboard's R&B chart and ninth position in Billboard Hot 100. It also occupied the sixth position overseas, on the United Kingdom Singles Chart.
  
  'A Change Is Gonna Come' was inspired by various personal events and highlighted the struggles of African-Americans. It became an anthem for the American Civil Rights Movement and is considered to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."
  
  In 1986, Sam Cooke was posthumously inducted as a charter member of the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.' The following year, he was initiated into the 'Songwriters Hall of Fame.' In 1994, Cooke received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the music industry. In 1999, he posthumously received the 'Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award' for his valuable contribution to music. In 2008, Rolling Stone named him the fourth 'Greatest Singer of All Time.'

Works

More photos

• music

  • Encore 1958
  • Tribute To The Lady 1959
  • Wonderful Worlds of Sam Cooke / My Kind of Blues 1960
  • Cooke's Tour 1960
  • Hits Of The 50's 1960
  • Swing Low 1961
  • My Kind Of Blues 1961
  • Twistin' The Night Away 1962
  • Night Beat 1963
  • Ain't That Good News 1964
  • Sam Cooke At the Copa 1964
  • Live at the Harlem Square Club 1963 1985

• musicc

  • Mr. Soul 1963

Religion

Sam was the son of a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special." He sang in church and in local gospel choirs until a group called the Highway Q.C.'s asked him to sing with them at various venues.

Politics

Sam Cooke had by choice become a spokesman for the Civil Rights movement, helping African-American people to get civil rights. Photos of him began to appear in the company of in Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X. Cooke was the one who had already crossed over into white audiences and was starting to influence others to follow the same path. Within his music the message was becoming clear, especially in his song 'A Change Is Gonna Come.'

Views

Sam Cooke is remembered as a pioneer both socially and musically. Blessed with a keen sense of vision and foresight, Sam Cooke was one of the first artists to capitalize on the crossover appeal of popular music by intentionally recording songs that targeted both the black and white markets.

Cooke experimented with rock 'n' roll, soul, and rhythm and blues genres and eventually became one of the earliest soul performers to reach out to a mainstream audience.

Quotations: "It's been a long time coming. But I know a change is gonna come."

"I say, as a singer grows older, his conception grows a little deeper because he lives life and he understands what he is trying to say a little more. And I think this gives. If a singer tries to find out what's happening in life, it gives him a better insight into telling the story of the song he is trying to sing."

"There been times when I thought I couldn't last for long But now I think I'm able to carry on It's been a long, been a long time coming But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will."

Personality

Sam had a duality about him in regards to superstition. His father had taught him to always stand up for himself, no matter what. Although admonished to respect his elders, and authority, he was never to back down if he was in the right. These teachings worked against Reverend Cook in later years. Sam, the middle child, was never willing to wait for a heavenly reward, as his father often preached. He saw those sermons as a tactic, using fear and superstition, to keep the flock in line. Conversely, when it came to choosing a stage name, Sam simply added an 'e' to the end of his family name. He reasoned that a full name, with an even amount of letters, was good luck.

Cooke was an insatiable reader. At every opportunity, he would be buried in a book or periodical. He even ordered an airplane swivel light installed in his car, so that he could read on the road. Stopping at drug stores along the tour route, neither his band nor his brothers, Charles and LC, who accompanied him everywhere, were surprised to see him buy a copy of every magazine on display.

Sam Cooke changed during the course of 1963, not least because of the tragic drowning of his infant son Vincent in the pool of a new home purchased in the Los Feliz Hills, east of Hollywood. Vincent's death not only rocked Sam's religious faith to its foundations, it severely tested his marriage to Barbara, whose lack of vigilance he couldn't help blaming for the tragedy. Friends and colleagues noticed that he started to drink more and laugh less as the months went by.

Quotes from others about the person

• I would have to say Sam Cooke is the one I admired most. His artistry and vocal, just the way he did it." - Leon Russell
  
  "Sam Cooke had a huge influence on me. He left the gospel field at one point and went into the secular, and he had this huge hit, 'You Send Me.' Irma, my older sister, and I heard 'You Send Me' on the radio while we were driving through the South one night. We had to stop the car. We got out and danced around the car out on the highway." - Aretha Franklin
  
  "I know a lot of people who are not here anymore, and I wonder why I'm still here... Not a day goes by that I don't think about Sam Cooke. His presence is so strong and so convincing to me, a true artist, a true talent, who never talked down to people." - Bobby Womack
  
  "My brothers and I had a gospel quartet, and that was the only music people listened to. But I was already gravitating towards songs by Sam Cooke, and then one day I put on a Jackie Wilson record, and baby, I was thrown right out of the house." - Al Green
  
  "The first time I heard Sam Cooke was in the 'Malcolm X' film. I was with my father, and that's the first time I heard his song. I remember my father telling me the story of Sam Cooke." - Leon Bridges
  
  "I always loved Sam Cooke, because he seemed very versatile. He sang gospel, soul, blues, pop music." - Aaron Neville

Interests

• Reading

• Philosophers & Thinkers

  Aristotle

• Writers

  War and Peace, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

• Sport & Clubs

  Football

• Athletes

  Jim Brown, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali

• Music & Bands

  R&B, gospel, soul, blues, pop music

Connections

Sam Cooke was married twice. His first wife was singer-dancer Dolores Elizabeth Milligan Cook, who died in a car accident in 1959. Although already divorced, Sam insisted on paying for her funeral. His song, "Somewhere There's a Girl" was written in honor of his first wife, after her death.

His second wife was Barbara with whom he had three children named Linda, Tracy, and Vincent. His youngest son, Vincent drowned in the family swimming pool when he was only 18 months old.

Father:

Charles S. Cook

1897-1996

Mother:

Annie May Carroll Cook

1907-1967

Brother:

L.C. Cooke

1932-2017

Sister:

Hattie Cook Woods

1929-2003

Brother:

Frank Cook

1937-1937

Sister:

Mary Margaret Cook

Sister:

Agnes Cook

Brother:

David Cook

Brother:

Willie Cook

ex-wife:

Dolores Elizabeth Milligan Cook

Wife:

Barbara Campbell Cook

Daughter:

Linda Cook

Son:

Vincent Cooke

Daughter:

Tracy Cook

Friend:

Smokey Robinson

Friend:

Dionne Warwick

Friend:

Lloyd Price

colleague:

Aretha Franklin

colleague:

Al Green

colleague:

Marvin Gaye

colleague:

Stevie Wonder

Friend:

Muhammad Ali

colleague:

Bobby Womack

After Cooke's death, his protégé, soul guitarist/singer Bobby Womack, wed Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell. Cooke's daughter, Linda, later married Cecil Womack, Bobby Womack's brother.

Friend:

Malcolm X

References

• Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke
  2015
• Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective
  2006
• You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke
  1995
• The Murder of Sam Cooke
  2019
• American Legends: The Life of Sam Cooke
  2014