Full Name
Sam Cooke
Date of Birth
January 22, 1931
Place of Birth
Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States
Date of Death
December 11, 1964
Place of Death
Los Angeles, California, United States
Education
Doolittle Elementary Wendell Phillips Academy High School
Spouses Names
Children Names
Vincent Cooke (with Barbara Campbell)
Parents Names
Reverend Charles Cook, Annie Mae Cook
Known Affiliates Names
Bobby Womack, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin
Affiliated Organizations’ Names
Contributions and Achievements
Sam Cooke was a significant figure in the history of popular music and one of the most influential Black vocalists of the post-World War II period. He was known for his sweet soul music and was an icon to many celebrated disciples, including Smokey Robinson, James Taylor, and Michael Jackson[9].
Cooke was the first black artist to establish his own record company, SAR Records[1]. His discography consists of fourteen studio albums, two live albums, 49 singles, 13 compilations, and 2 box sets[4]. Over the course of his eight-year career, Cooke placed 29 singles in the Top 40 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and 20 singles in the Top Ten of Billboard’s R&B chart[4].
Cooke’s song “A Change Is Gonna Come” became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement[2][6][10]. This song was covered hundreds of times, including by Aretha Franklin[6].
Cooke received numerous awards and recognitions for his contributions to music. He was one of the first ten inductees into the newly founded Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame in 1986[1]. In 1987, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame[1]. In 1999, he received the first Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation and the NARAS Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award[1][3][7]. In 2001, he received proclamations in Los Angeles County, Mississippi, and Chicago declaring December 17 Sam Cooke Day[1]. In 2003, his DVD “SAM COOKE/LEGEND” won a GRAMMY Award for Best Long Form Music Video[1]. In 2005, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum saluted Sam Cooke’s life and legacy[1]. In 2006, his composition “A Change Is Gonna Come” was added to the National Recording[1]. In 2011, Chicago honored Sam Cooke’s roots by renaming a portion of East 36th Street[1].
Citations: [1] https://www.songhall.org/profile/Sam_Cooke [2] https://variety.com/2021/music/opinion/sam-cooke-a-change-is-gonna-come-civil-rights-black-history-month-1234900231/ [3] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177492/awards/ [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke_discography [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Cooke [6] https://www.npr.org/2007/12/16/17267529/sam-cookes-swan-song-of-protest [7] https://www.grammy.com/artists/sam-cooke/2603 [8] https://www.oldies.com/artist-songs/Sam-Cooke.html [9] https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-Cooke [10] https://producelikeapro.com/blog/a-change-is-gonna-come/ [11] https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammys-2022-sam-cookes-music-nominated-1235010070/ [12] https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Legend-1951-1964-2-LP/dp/B00JZO33YM [13] http://www.myblackhistory.net/Sam_Cooke.htm [14] https://illinois.digication.com/sam-cooke1/a-change-is-gonna-come [15] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177492/ [16] https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/71979/Sam_Cooke-The_Best_Of_Sam_Cooke-45_RPM_Vinyl_Record [17] https://wers.org/the-vault-of-soul-sam-cooke/ [18] https://slate.com/culture/2016/10/sam-cookes-a-change-is-gonna-come-is-a-civil-rights-anthem.html [19] https://www.discogs.com/artist/295202-Sam-Cooke [20] https://artsphere.org/interactive-programs/mlk-day-of-service/sam-cooke/ [21] https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/AChangeIsGonnaCome.pdf [22] https://study.com/academy/lesson/sam-cooke-songs-biography.html [23] https://www.kuvo.org/a-change-is-gonna-come/ [24] https://teachrock.org/article/the-soul-stirrer-sam-cooke/