Sam Cooke 1931 – 1964

Biography

Sam Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and grew up in Chicago, where he sang gospel with the Highway QCs and then as lead singer of the Soul Stirrers, becoming gospel’s brightest star. He crossed over to pop in 1957 with You Send Me, and followed it with Wonderful World, Chain Gang, Cupid, and Twistin’ the Night Away, songs that made him one of the first Black artists to control his own publishing and record company. His 1964 song A Change Is Gonna Come, written after he was turned away from a whites-only motel, became an anthem of the civil rights movement. He was shot and killed in Los Angeles, California, on December 11, 1964, at the age of thirty-three, a death that remains controversial. A Change Is Gonna Come was adopted by the civil rights movement and is now regarded as one of the greatest songs ever recorded.