Sam Cooke (January 22, 1931 ??? December 11, 1964) was a popular and influential American gospel, R&B, soul, pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Indeed, most musicians today recognize him as one of the true founders of soul music. Biography Sam Cooke was born Samuel Cook in Clarksdale, Mississippi (he added an "e" onto the end of his name because he thought it added a touch of class). He was one of eight children of Rev. Charles and Mrs. Annie Mae Cook. The family moved to Chicago in 1933. Cooke began his musical career as a member of a quartet with his siblings, the Singing Children, followed by a turn as a teenager as a member of the Highway QCs, a gospel group. In 1950, at the age of 19, he joined The Soul Stirrers and achieved significant success and fame within the gospel community. His first pop single, "Lovable" (1956) was released under the alias of "Dale Cooke," in order to not alienate his fan base; there was a considerable taboo against gospel singers performing secular music. However, the alias failed to hide Cooke's unique and distinctive vocals. No one was fooled. Art Rupe, head of Specialty Records, the label of the Soul Stirrers, gave his blessing for Cooke to record secular music under his real name, but was unhappy about the type of music Cooke and Bumps Blackwell, Cooke's pop producer, were making. Rupe expected Cooke's secular music to be similar to that of another Specialty Records artist, Little Richard. When Rupe walked in on a recording session and heard Cooke covering Gershwin, he was quite upset. After an argument between Rupe and Blackwell, Cooke and Blackwell left the label, and Cooke signed with Keen Records in 1957. His first release was "You Send Me", which spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart but which also had massive mainstream success, spending three weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart. As if a R&B performer writing his own songs and achieving mainstream
1 | A Change Is Gonna Come | Ain't That Good News |
2 | Shake | The Man and His Music |
3 | Twistin' the Night Away | Sam Cooke - Greatest Hits |
4 | Chain Gang | Sam Cooke - Greatest Hits |
5 | Another Saturday Night | Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 |
6 | You send me | The Man and His Music |
7 | (What A) Wonderful World | Sam Cooke - Greatest Hits |