Sam Cooke

Singer

• Born: January 22, 1931
• Birthplace: Clarksdale, Mississippi
• Died: December 11, 1964
• Place of death: Los Angeles, California

Musician and entrepreneur

A soulful singer-songwriter with a smooth tenor voice and charismatic stage presence, Cooke had twenty-nine songs—many original compositions—that were hits on both the rhythm-and-blues and popular music charts during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. An early black entrepreneur, he also established his own recording and music publication companies.

Areas of achievement: Business; Music: crossover; Music: gospel; Music: pop; Music: rhythm and blues

Early Life

Samuel Cook was the fifth of eight children born to handyman and itinerant fundamentalist evangelical preacher Charles “Papa” Cook, Sr., and Annie Mae Cook. At the age of two, Cooke moved with his family to Chicago. His father, who worked at the Reynolds Metals plant and served as union shop steward, eventually became the regular minister for a Church of Christ (Holiness) congregation in the suburb of Chicago Heights. Blessed with a sweet, clear tenor voice, Cooke began performing gospel and spiritual music during church services at the age of five with four of his siblings. Ranging in age from four to thirteen, they were collectively known as the Singing Children. The quintet became so popular that they were often booked at other churches in Illinois and Indiana. When not performing with the Singing Children, Cooke was a street singer of popular hits by such renowned artists as The Ink Spots and Nat King Cole.

While attending Wendell Phillips High School (class of 1948), Cooke formed his own gospel group, the Highway QC’s, and sang with another gospel group, the Pilgrim Travelers. In 1950, he auditioned for and landed the vacant lead singer spot for the well-known gospel group the Soul Stirrers. During a six-year stint with the group, Cooke—who added an e to his last name during this period—toured widely and recorded frequently. Women were drawn to his good looks, keen wit, and fine voice; Cooke engaged in numerous affairs on the road and fathered several children out of wedlock. Three of his illegitimate daughters were born in 1953, the year he married Dee-Dee Mohawk, a singer from Texas (they divorced in 1957).

Life’s Work

In 1956, Cooke left the Soul Stirrers to forge a solo career as a pop singer. The following year, he released his first single, “Lovable,” under the name Dale Cooke to avoid offending his gospel fans. In mid-1957, he recorded covers of several tunes, notably “(I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons” and “Summertime,” which were modest successes. Late in 1957, he released “You Send Me,” an original single that highlighted his silky-smooth vocal style, and the song raced toward the top of both the R&B and pop charts. On December 1, 1957, Cooke performed the song on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the following day “You Send Me” reached number one, replacing Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock” as America’s favorite tune. The single would eventually sell 1.7 million copies. It was just the beginning of an incredible string of hits.

In 1958, Cooke’s first pop album climbed to number sixteen on the Billboard charts. That year, he married childhood sweetheart Barbara Campbell, with whom he already had a daughter; the couple went on to have two more children (one of whom, Vincent, accidentally drowned in the family pool in 1963). In 1959, Cooke had three singles in the Top 40 on both the R&B and pop charts, and his songs also sold well in the United Kingdom: “Only Sixteen,” “Everybody Likes to Cha-Cha-Cha,” and “Young Blood.”

In the late 1950’s, Cooke used his newfound fame and fortune to set up record and music-publishing companies in Los Angeles. His goals were to provide a creative outlet for less mainstream music and to maintain control of master recordings. In partnership with fellow former gospel singer J. W. Alexander, he formed SAR Records (for gospel and R&B music), Derby Records (for popular music), and Kags Music Corporation to print sheet music. Soon afterward, Cooke began producing singles and albums for such artists as the Soul Stirrers, Johnny Taylor, the Valentinos, Billy Preston, and Bobby Womack.

Meanwhile, Cooke’s successes as a singer caught the attention of major labels, and in 1960 he signed a $100,000 recording contract with RCA Records. He kept the hits coming for his new employer, releasing such singles as “Wonderful World,” “Chain Gang,” and “I’m in a Sad Mood,” all of which reached the Top 40 in 1960. Throughout the early 1960’s, Cooke was one of the top recording artists in America. He bought a mansion in Los Angeles, expensive cars (including a Ferrari), and fine clothes. Revenue from hits like “Cupid” (1961), “Twistin’ the Night Away” (1962), “Bring It on Home to Me” (1962), and “Another Saturday Night” (1963) kept the money flowing in. One of his last compositions, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” a protest song that he first performed on The Tonight Show in February, 1964, indicated a new direction for his music.

Cooke’s life ended abruptly in 1964, at the height of his career. On the night of December 11, while under the influence of alcohol, he checked into a run-down Los Angeles motel with a young woman named Elisa Boyer (who was later arrested for prostitution). Late that night, Boyer fled with her clothes and most of his. Cooke, wearing only a sports coat, purportedly assaulted the motel manager, demanding to know where Boyer had gone, and the manager shot him. Cooke died within minutes, at the age of thirty-three. Although questions were raised about the circumstances of his death, an inquest ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide. At a memorial service held in Glendale, California, more than 200,000 grief-stricken fans filed by Cooke’s coffin.

Significance

Cooke’s last recording,“A Change Is Gonna Come,” is considered his greatest composition and became one of the anthems of the Civil Rights movement. The song’s message, and Cooke’s style, inspired such later artists as Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, and Al Green. Performers as diverse as Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, the Fifth Dimension, the Righteous Brothers, Tina Turner, the Supremes, andJon Bon Jovi have covered Cooke’s songs, and many of his evocative works have been featured on film sound tracks.

In 1986, Cooke was part of the inaugural class of performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was the posthumous recipient of the 1999 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In Rolling Stone magazine polls, Cooke was listed among the One Hundred Greatest Artists of All Time (2004) and the Greatest Singers of All Time (2008). In 2005, music industry and media members named Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” number twelve among Rolling Stone’s Five Hundred Greatest Songs of All Time.

Bibliography

Cooke, Sam. Sam Cooke: Portrait of a Legend, 1951-1964. Birmingham, England: Warner Bros., 2004. A songbook of Cooke’s greatest hits, complete with piano music, guitar chords, and lyrics.

Greene, Erik. Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story from His Family’s Perspective. Bloomington, Ind.: Trafford, 2006. Written by Cooke’s great-nephew, this photo-filled biography focuses on family memories and also details inconsistencies in the official version of the singer’s violent death.

Guralnick, Peter. Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. Newport Beach, Calif.: Back Bay Books, 2006. An exhaustive biography that incorporates interviews with those who knew Cooke and includes photographs from throughout the singer’s lifetime.

Wolff, Daniel J., et al. You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke. New York: William Morrow, 1995. A collaborative effort among a journalist, singer, guitarist, and music researcher, this biography traces Cooke’s career from gospel singer to crossover artist. Includes theories about the events surrounding his death.