Sam Cooke
 Sam Cooke was born one of eight children in Chicago on 22 January
1931, into a strong church-going family. His father was a local
minister.
His early musical influences (like many of his
contemporaries) was gospel music, and with his siblings he was
featured singing in a church group at the age of nine, under the
collective name of The Singing Children.
As a teenager he sang with another gospel group, called The
Highway QC's, and in 1950 he joined The Soul Stirrers, with whom
he sang and recorded for six years.
Being the focal point of the
group it was inevitable that he would strike out on his own solo
career, although his initial solo recordings for Specialty Records
were released under the pseudonym Dale Cooke.
The Soul Stirrers
soon worked out the real identity of 'Dale' Cooke, and Sam was
asked to leave the group. In 1956, Sam's solo career was guided by
Little Richard's
manager Bumps Blackwell, who bought out his contract from
Specialty and signed him to the Keen label.
During this time Cooke
recorded the single You Send Me (1957), written by his brother
Charles. It went on to sell over two million copies and top the
national Hit Parade. It also provided his first British hit. Sam
Cooke was launched on the road to super stardom.
Cooke remained with Keen Records for four years and in that
time he enjoyed several more hit singles including Wonderful
World and Only Sixteen.
He joined RCA Victor in 1960
and also formed his own record company in association with one J
Alexander, called Sar Records. It was one of the first black-owned
record labels and recorded such gospel artists as The Valentinos,
Johnny Taylor (a former member of The Highway QC's) and The Sims
Twins.
It was as a recording artist for RCA that Sam Cooke established
himself as one of the major soul singers in the world. In four
years he sold nearly 20 million records with a barrage of
international hits. Chain Gang, Cupid, Twistin'
The Night Away, Ain't That Good News, Bring It
On Home To Me, Tennessee Waltz, Another Saturday
Night and Shake were amongst the best-sellers. He
also combined his time touring in concerts and appearing in the
nightclubs of Las Vegas, where he was constantly in great demand.
Sam Cooke was the first black singer to dominate the charts,
his beautiful face, voice and songs inspiring everyone from Otis
Redding to The Rolling Stones.
On 11 December 1964, he was shot three times at close range by
Bertha Lee Franklin - the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los
Angeles - who claimed that Cooke was trying to rape a Eurasian
prostitute. Cooke's final words to Franklin were, "Lady, you shot
me".
The court later returned a verdict of 'justifiable homicide'
claiming the woman shot in self-defence. Cooke was just 33.
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