Sam Cooke | |
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 Cooke in 1963 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Samuel Cook (1931-01-22)January 22, 1931[1][2] Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | December 11, 1964(1964-12-11) (aged 33) Los Angeles, California, U.S.[3] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1951–1964[4] |
| Labels | |
Samuel Cooke[5] (né Cook; January 22, 1931[6] – December 11, 1964)[5] was an Americansoul singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influentialsoul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King ofSoul" for his distinctive vocals, pioneering contributions to the genre, and significance in popular music.[7] During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in theTop 40 of theBillboard Hot 100 chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top 10 ofBillboard'sBlack Singles chart. In 1964, he was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles.[8] After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be ajustifiable homicide.[9] His family has since questioned the circumstances of his death.In 2015, Cooke was ranked number 28 inBillboard magazine's list of the "35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time".[10]
Sam Cooke was born Samuel Cook inClarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931 (he added the "e" to his last name in 1958 to signify a new start to his life).[11][12] He was the fifth of eight children of Rev. Charles Cook, aBaptist minister, and the former Annie Mae Carroll. One of his younger brothers, L.C. (1932–2017),[13][14] later became a member of thedoo-wop bandJohnny Keyes and the Magnificents.[15] Cooke was raisedBaptist.[16]
Cooke's family moved to Chicago in 1933.[17] There, he attended Doolittle Elementary andWendell Phillips Academy High School,[18] the same school thatNat King Cole had attended a few years earlier. Cooke sang in the choir of his father's church and began his career with his siblings in a group called the Singing Children when he was six years old.[19] Cooke first became known as lead singer withthe Highway Q.C.'s when he was a teenager, having joined the group at the age of 14.[20] During this time, Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighborLou Rawls, who sang in a rival gospel group.[21]
In 1950, Cooke replaced gospel tenorR. H. Harris as lead singer of his gospel groupThe Soul Stirrers, who had signed withSpecialty Records on behalf of the group.[22] Their first recording under Cooke's leadership was the song "Jesus Gave Me Water" in 1950. They also recorded the gospel songs "Peace in the Valley", "How Far Am I from Canaan?", "Jesus Paid the Debt" and "One More River", among many others, some of which he wrote.[4] Cooke was often credited for bringing gospel music to the attention of a younger crowd of listeners, mainly girls who would rush to the stage when the Soul Stirrers hit the stage just to get a glimpse of him.[23]
Cooke had 30 U.S. top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964, plus three more posthumously. Major hits like "You Send Me", "A Change Is Gonna Come", "Cupid", "Chain Gang", "Wonderful World", "Another Saturday Night", and "Twistin' the Night Away" are some of his most popular songs.Twistin' the Night Away was one of Cooke's biggest selling albums.[24] He was also among the first modernBlack performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. Cooke founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. Cooke also took an active part in theCivil Rights Movement.[25]
Sam Cooke's first pop/soul single was "Lovable" (1956), a remake of the gospel song "Wonderful". It was released under thealias "Dale Cook"[26] in order not to alienate his gospel fan base; there was a considerable stigma against gospel singers performing secular music. However, it fooled no one[9] — his unique and distinctive vocals were easily recognized.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 he was unhappy about the type of music Cooke and producerBumps Blackwell 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 singingGershwin, he was quite upset. After an argument between Rupe and Blackwell, Cooke and Blackwell left the label.[27]
"Lovable" was neither a hit nor a flop, but it indicated Cooke's future potential. While gospel was popular, Cooke saw that its fans were mostly limited to low-income, rural parts of the country, and he sought to branch out. Cooke later admitted that he got an endorsement for a career in pop music from the least likely man, his pastor father. Cooke stated: "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." Taking the name "Sam Cooke", he sought a fresh start in pop.[citation needed]
In 1957, Sam Cooke appeared onABC'sThe Guy Mitchell Show. That same year, he signed with Keen Records. Cooke's first hit, "You Send Me", released as the B-side of "Summertime",[26][28] spent six weeks at No. 1 on theBillboard R&B chart.[29] The song also had mainstream success, spending three weeks at No. 1 on theBillboard pop chart.[30] It elevated him from earning $200 a week to over $5,000 a week (equivalent to $56,000 in 2024).[31][32]
In 1958, Cooke performed for the famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced byLeon Hefflin held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners wereLittle Willie John,Ray Charles,Ernie Freeman, andBo Rhambo.Sammy Davis Jr. was there to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest. The event featured the top four prominent disc jockeys of Los Angeles.[11]
Cooke signed with theRCA Victor record label in January 1960, having been offered an advance of $100,000 (equivalent to $1.1 million in 2024)[32] by the label's producersHugo & Luigi.[33][34] One of his first RCA Victor singles was "Chain Gang", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart.[35] It was followed by more hits, including "Sad Mood",[36] "Cupid",[37] "Bring It On Home to Me" (withLou Rawls on backing vocals),[38] "Another Saturday Night",[39] and "Twistin' the Night Away".[40]
In 1961, Cooke started his own record label,SAR Records, withJ. W. Alexander and his manager, Roy Crain.[41] The label soon included the Simms Twins,the Valentinos (who wereBobby Womack and his brothers),Mel Carter andJohnnie Taylor. Cooke then created a publishing imprint and management firm named Kags.[42]
Like most R&B artists of his time, Cooke focused on singles; in all, he had 29 top 40 hits on the pop charts and more on the R&B charts. Cooke was a prolific songwriter and wrote most of the songs he recorded. Cooke also had a hand in overseeing some of the song arrangements. In spite of releasing mostly singles, he released a well-receivedblues-inflected LP in 1963,Night Beat, and his most critically acclaimed studio album,Ain't That Good News, which featured five singles, in 1964.[43]
In 1963, Cooke signed a five-year contract forAllen Klein to manage Kags Music andSAR Records, and made him his manager. Klein negotiated a five-year deal (three years plus two option years) withRCA Victor in which a holding company, Tracey, Ltd, named after Cooke's daughter, owned by Klein and managed by J. W. Alexander, would produce and own Cooke's recordings.RCA Victor would get exclusive distribution rights in exchange for six percent royalty payments and payments for the recording sessions. For tax reasons, Cooke would receive preferred stock in Tracey instead of an initial cash advance of $100,000. He would receive cash advances of $100,000 for the next two years, followed by an additional $75,000 for each of the two option years if the deal went to term.[44]
Cooke was known for his tenor voice, which was big, velvety, and expansive, with a recognizable tone. Cooke could go as high as high C without losing purity or volume, and his upper mid-range was coated in a unique rasp. Cooke's vocal style was very adaptable, adopting a rather classical sound on jazz and pop songs while maintaining his trademark stylistic soulful hold on R&B, gospel and soul music.
Cooke's delivery encompassed a wide range of emotions including playful expressiveness to interact with listeners, mellow somberness as a form of reflection, and (in "A Change Is Gonna Come") profound soulfulness. When performing live, he would often play with notes and scales and experiment with melodies and his enunciation, while improvising entire songs. Cooke also began to perform highly charged versions of his songs later in his career.
Cooke's vocal exploits would go on to influence many acts likeOtis Redding,James Brown,Rod Stewart,Johnny Nash,Tina Turner,Wilson Pickett,Mick Jagger,Al Green,Paul McCartney,Diana Ross,Marvin Gaye,Steve Perry, andStevie Wonder among many others.
Cooke was married twice.[45] His first marriage was to singer-dancer Dolores Elizabeth Milligan Cooke, who took the stage name "Dee Dee Mohawk" in 1953; they divorced in 1958.[46][47] She was killed in an auto collision inFresno, California, in 1959.[48] Although Cooke and Milligan were divorced,[49] he paid for his ex-wife's funeral expenses.[46][45][11]
In 1958, Cooke married his second wife, Barbara Campbell (1935–2021), in Chicago.[46][50] His father performed the ceremony.[46] They had three children:Linda (b. 1953),[51] Tracy (b. 1960), and Vincent (1961–1963), who drowned in the family swimming pool.[45][52][46]Cooke also fathered at least three other children out of wedlock.[53] In 1958, a woman in Philadelphia, Connie Bolling,[11] said Cooke was the father of her son. Cooke paid her an estimated $5,000 settlement out of court.[46]
In November 1958, Cooke was involved in a car crash en route fromSt. Louis toGreenville, Mississippi. Hischauffeur Edward Cunningham was killed, while Cooke, guitarist Cliff White, and singerLou Rawls were hospitalized.[46]
Cooke was a central part of thecivil rights movement, using his influence and popularity with the White and Black populations to fight for the cause. Cooke was friends with boxerMuhammad Ali, activistMalcolm X and football playerJim Brown, who together campaigned for racial equality.[54]
Cooke was shot and killed on December 11, 1964, at the Hacienda Motel at 91st and South Figueroa streets inSouth Central Los Angeles. Answering separate reports of a shooting and a kidnapping at the motel, police found Cooke's body. He had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, which was later determined to have pierced his heart.[55]
The motel's manager, Bertha Franklin, said she shot Cooke in self-defense. Her account was immediately disputed by Cooke's friends, who were not there at the time of the incident.[56][57] The motel's owner, Evelyn Carr,[note 1] said that she had been on the telephone with Franklin at the time of the incident. Carr said she overheard Cooke's intrusion and the ensuing conflict and gunshot, and called the police.[58]
The police record states that Franklin fatally shot Cooke, who had checked in earlier that evening.[59] Franklin said Cooke had banged on the door of her office, shouting "Where's the girl?!" in reference to Elisa Boyer, a woman who had accompanied Cooke to the motel and who had called the police that night from a telephone booth near the motel minutes before Carr had.[60]
Franklin shouted back that there was no one in her office except herself, but an enraged Cooke did not believe her and forced his way into the office, naked except for one shoe and a sport jacket. He grabbed her, demanding again to know the woman's whereabouts. According to Franklin, she grappled with Cooke, the two of them fell to the floor, and she then got up and ran to retrieve a gun. Franklin said that she then fired at Cooke in self-defense because she feared for her life. He was struck once in thetorso. According to Franklin, Cooke exclaimed, "Lady, you shot me", in a tone that expressed perplexity rather than anger, before advancing on her again. Franklin said she hit him on the head with a broomstick before Cooke finally fell to the floor and died. Acoroner'sinquest was convened to investigate the incident.[61]
Boyer told the police that she had first met Cooke earlier that night and had spent the evening in his company. Boyer said that after they left a local nightclub together, she had repeatedly requested that he take her home, but it appeared Cooke was intoxicated and drove her against her will to a place to have sex. As they sped down Harbor Freeway, Boyer noted they had passed a number of hotels and motor courts.
Cooke ended up at the Hacienda Motel, a black-owned business in south central Los Angeles. Boyer noted Cooke's familiarity with the layout as if he had been a repeat customer. She said that once in one of the motel's rooms, Cooke physically forced her onto the bed, and then stripped Boyer to her lacy panties. She said she was sure he was going to rape her. Cooke allowed her to use the bathroom, from which she attempted an escape but found that the window was firmly shut. According to Boyer, she returned to the main room, where Cooke continued to molest her. When he went to use the bathroom, Boyer quickly grabbed her clothes and ran from the room. She said that in her haste, she had also scooped up most of Cooke's clothing by mistake.
Boyer said she ran first to the manager's office and knocked on the door seeking help. However, she said that the manager took too long to respond, so, fearing Cooke would soon be coming after her, she fled from the motel before the manager opened the door. Boyer said she then put her clothes back on, hid Cooke's clothing, went to a telephone booth, and called the police.[62]
According to restaurant employees and friends, Cooke was carrying a large amount of money at Martoni's. A search of Boyer's purse by police revealed nothing except a $20 bill, and a search of Cooke'sFerrari found a money clip with $108 (equivalent to $1,095 in 2024),[32] as well as a few loose coins near the ashtray.[63]
As Carr's testimonycorroborated Franklin's version of events, and because both Boyer and Franklin later passedpolygraph tests,[46][64] thecoroner's jury ultimately accepted Franklin's explanation and returned a verdict ofjustifiable homicide.[9] With that verdict, authorities officially closed the case on Cooke's death.[65]
However, some of Cooke's family and supporters have rejected Boyer's version of events, as well as those given by Franklin and Carr. They believe that the killing took place in some manner entirely different from the three official accounts.[66][67][68]
On the perceived lack of an investigation, Cooke's close friendMuhammad Ali said: "If Cooke had been Frank Sinatra, the Beatles or Ricky Nelson, the FBI would be investigating."[69]
SingerEtta James viewed Cooke's body before his funeral and questioned the accuracy of the official version of events. She wrote that the injuries she observed were well beyond the official account of Cooke having fought Franklin alone. James wrote that Cooke was so badly beaten that his head was nearly separated from his shoulders, his hands were broken and crushed, and his nose was mangled.[70]
Some have speculated that Cooke's manager,Allen Klein, had a role in his death. Klein owned Tracey Ltd, which ultimately owned all rights to Cooke's recordings.[71] However, no evidence supporting acriminal conspiracy has been presented.[67][68]
The first funeral service for Cooke was held on December 18, 1964, at A. R. Leak Funeral Home in Chicago; 200,000 fans lined up for more than four city blocks to view his body.[45][72]
Afterward, Cooke's body was flown back to Los Angeles for a second service, at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on December 19,[73] which included a much-heralded performance of "The Angels Keep Watching Over Me" byRay Charles, who stood in for a grief-strickenBessie Griffin. Cooke was interred atForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery inGlendale, California.[45][74]
Two singles and an album were released in the month after Cooke's death. One of the singles, "Shake", reached the top ten of both the pop and R&B charts. The B-side, "A Change Is Gonna Come", is considered a classicprotest song from the era of thecivil rights movement.[75] It was aTop 40 pop hit and a top 10 R&B hit. The album, also titledShake, reached the number one spot for R&B albums.
Bertha Franklin said that she received numerous death threats after shooting Cooke. She left her position at the Hacienda Motel and did not publicly disclose where she had moved.[76] After being cleared by the coroner's jury, she sued Cooke's estate, citing physical injuries and mental anguish suffered as a result of Cooke's attack. Franklin's lawsuit sought $200,000 (equivalent to $2 million in 2024)[32] ofcompensatory andpunitive damages.[76]
Barbara Womackcountersued Franklin on behalf of the estate, seeking $7,000 (equivalent to $70,000 in 2024) in damages to cover Cooke's funeral expenses. Elisa Boyer provided testimony in support of Franklin in the case. In 1967, the courts awarded Franklin $30,000 in damages (equivalent to $283,000 in 2024).[77][78][32]
Cooke's contribution to soul music contributed to the rise ofAretha Franklin,Bobby Womack,Al Green,Curtis Mayfield,Stevie Wonder,Marvin Gaye, andBilly Preston, and popularized the work ofOtis Redding andJames Brown.[79][80][81]AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was "the inventor of soul music", and possessed "an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed."[82]
Cooke was portrayed byPaul Mooney inThe Buddy Holly Story, a 1978 American biographical film which tells the life story ofrock musicianBuddy Holly.
In the stage playOne Night in Miami, first performed in 2013, Cooke was portrayed byArinzé Kene. In the2020 film adaptation, he is played byLeslie Odom Jr., who was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal.
That he was killed after being scammed by a prostitute just didn't make sense to many people. It's an end that his sister, Agnes Cooke-Hoskins, still discounts. 'My brother was first class all the way. He would not check into a $3-a-night motel; that wasn't his style', she said while attending a recent tribute to Cooke at theRock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
I've always felt there was some sort of conspiracy there. ... I listened to the reports and I listened to the story of what happened and I can imagine Sam going after his pants. I can imagine Sam going up to the counter and saying 'Hey, somebody just took my pants.' And he's standing there, seeing the woman with his pants. I can imagine him saying 'Give me my pants.' But I can't imagine him attacking her. He wasn't that type of person to attack somebody. That wasn't his bag. He was a lover, OK. He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't a boxer. You never heard of Sam Cooke beating up his women.
It's hard to buy into conspiracy theories, though several swirl around this incident that paint Cooke as the victim of a plot by white supremacists to silence the country's most popular self-empowered black man.
...I would say within the community there is not a single person that believes that Sam Cooke died as he is said to have died: killed by a motel owner at a cheap motel in Los Angeles called the Hacienda which he had gone to with a prostitute named Elisa Boyer. I could have filled 100 pages of the book with an appendix on all the theories about his death. Central tenet of every one of those theories is that this was a case of another proud black man brought down by the white establishment who simply didn't want to see him grow any bigger. I looked into this very carefully. I had access to the private investigators' report, which nobody had seen and which filled in a good many more details. And no evidence has ever been adduced to prove any of these theories.
'In the course of the two or three hundred different interviews with different people that I did for the book, there are two or three hundred different conspiracy theories,' he said. 'While they were all extremely interesting, and while every one of them reflected a basic truth about prejudice in America in 1964 and the truth of the prejudice that has continued into the present day, none of them came accompanied by any evidence beyond that metaphorical truth.'
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