Sam Cooke was killed 50 years ago

Sam Cooke

“I don’t even know why I do what I do,….when I do it, it just comes.”
~Sam Cooke (to Bobby Womack)

You Send Me:


Crossing Over (documentary):

Wikipedia:

Birth name Samuel Cook
Also known as Dale Cook
Born January 22, 1931
Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.
Origin Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died December 11, 1964 (aged 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.Interred: Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale,California
Genres Soul, Gospel, Rhythm and Blues
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter,entrepreneur
Instruments Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active 1951 –1964
Labels Specialty, Keen, RCA
Associated acts The Singing Children, The Highway Q.C.’s, The Soul Stirrers, J. W. Alexander, Lou Rawls, Bobby Womack

Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel,R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and influence on the modern world of music. His contribution in pioneering soul music led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown.

Bring It On Home To Me – Live At The Harlem Square Club, 1963:

Cooke had 30 U.S. top 40 hits between 1957 and 1964, and a further three after his death. Major hits like “You Send Me”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “Cupid”, “Chain Gang”, “Wonderful World”, and “Twistin’ the Night Away” are some of his most popular songs. Cooke was also among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.

On December 11, 1964, Cooke was fatally shot by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 33. At the time, the courts ruled that Cooke was drunk and distressed, and that the manager had killed Cooke in what was later ruled ajustifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been widely questioned.

A Change Is Gonna Come:

There been times that I thought I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Posthumous honors:

  • In 1986, Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  • In 1999, Cooke was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #16 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
  • In 2008, Cooke was named the fourth “Greatest Singer of All Time” by Rolling Stone.
  • In June 2011, the City of Chicago renamed a portion of East 36th Street near Cottage Grove Avenue as the honorary “Sam Cooke Way” to remember the singer near a corner where he hung out and sang as a teenager.

Sam Cooke was the most important soul singer in history — he was also the inventor of soul music, and its most popular and beloved performer in both the black and white communities. Equally important, he was among the first modern black performers and composers to attend to the business side of the music business, and founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer.
~Bruce Eder (allmusic.com)

Album of the day:

Night Beat (1963):sam cooke night beat

emagazine ranked it No. 4 on “The 100 Best Albums of the Last Twenty Years.” In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 23 on their The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Best Of Sam Cooke HD [Full song] || Sam Cooke’s Greatest Hits:

1. 00:00 Wonderful World – Sam Cooke
2. 02:05 A change Is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke
3. 05:18 Bring it on home me – Sam Cooke
4. 08:03 Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen – Sam Cooke
5. 11:30 Chain gang – Sam Cooke
6. 14:41 Another saturday night – Sam Cooke
7. 17:23 You send me – Sam Cooke
8. 20:07 Twistin’ the night away – Sam Cooke
9. 25:25 Sumertime – Sam Cooke
10. 27:46 Frankie & Johnny – Sam Cooke
11. 30:32 That’s where It’s at – Sam Cooke
12. 33:10 Little red rooster – Sam Cooke
13. 36:04 Shake – Sam Cooke
14. 38:56 Baby, baby, baby – Sam Cooke
15. 41:27 Good news – Sam Cooke
16. 43:57 Counsin of mine – Sam Cooke
17. 46:27 Tennessee waltz – Sam Cooke
18. 49:39 Basin street blues – Sam Cooke
19. 52:29 Love will find a way – Sam Cooke
20. 54:44 Just for you – Sam Cooke
21. 57:05 Forever – Sam Cooke
22. 1:00:04 Only sixteen – Sam Cooke
23. 1:02:19 Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha – Sam Cooke
24. 1:05:01 (I Love You)For Sentimental Reasons – Sam Cooke
25. 1:07:41 Cupid – Sam Cooke
26. 1:10:26 Sad mood – Sam Cooke
27. 1:13:05 Having a party – Sam Cooke
28. 1:15:48 Lovable – Sam Cooke
29. 1:18:15 Somewhere there’s a girl – Sam Cooke
30. 1:20:44 Don’t cry on my shoulder – Sam Cooke
31. 1:23:27 I be long to your heart – Sam Cooke
32. 1:25:46 Teenage sonata – Sam Cooke
33. 1:28:29 Love me – Sam Cooke
34. 1:30:53 Talkin’ trash – Sam Cooke
35. 1:33:09 Tenderness – Sam Cooke

-Egil

One thought on “Sam Cooke was killed 50 years ago”

  1. He got PISSED OFF at his fellow Black Performers after hearing Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ In The Wind.’

    ‘How can a 20 year old white kid write so much more poignantly about The Black Experience than any of us. Then he put pen to paper and wrote ‘A Change Is Gonna Come.’

    Great song, great vocal performance.

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