View source for Sam Cooke

{{Short description|American singer and songwriter (1931–1964)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image            = Sam Cooke 2.jpg
| image_upright    = 0.9
| caption          = Cooke in 1963
| birth_name       = Samuel Cook
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1931|1|22}}<ref name="bare">{{Cite book |last1=Eagle |first1=Bob |title=Blues – A Regional Experience |last2=LeBlanc |first2=Eric S. |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-313-34423-7 |location=Santa Barbara |page=199}}</ref><ref>Cooke's death certificate gives his year of birth as 1932 while his gravestone gives his year of birth as 1930. However, the Social Security Death Master File (number 329-26-4823) indicates 1931.</ref>
| birth_place      = [[Clarksdale, Mississippi]], U.S.
| origin           = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1964|12|11|1931|1|22}}
| death_place      = Los Angeles, California<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://historicplacesla.org/reports/302ad891-d563-49ee-a301-3a8ec8d687cd|title=Report – HPLA}}</ref>
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Soul music|Soul]]|R&B|[[Gospel music|gospel]]}}
| occupation       = {{hlist|Singer|songwriter}}
| years_active     = 1951–1964<ref name="songsofsamcooke.com" />
| label            = {{hlist| [[ABKCO Records|ABKCO]]|[[Specialty Records|Specialty]]|[[Keen Records|Keen]]|[[RCA Records|RCA]]}}
}}

'''Samuel Cooke'''<ref name="britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Sam Cooke |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/136091/Sam-Cooke |access-date=September 28, 2008 |author=David Ritz}}</ref> ({{ne|'''Cook'''}}; January 22, 1931<ref>[https://findadeath.com/sam-cooke/ Cooke's death certificate gives 1932 as his  year of birth while his gravestone gives 1930 as his year of birth. Copy of death certificate available midway through scrolling down.] However, the Social Security Death Master File (number 329-26-4823) indicates 1931.</ref> – December 11, 1964)<ref name=britannica /> was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential [[soul music|soul]] artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "'''King of''' '''Soul'''" for his distinctive vocals, pioneering contributions to the genre, and significance in popular music.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Janovitz |first=Bill |title=Cupid – Sam Cooke |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/cupid-mt0014588548 |access-date=September 5, 2014 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> During his eight-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the [[Top 40]] of the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top 10 of ''[[Billboard Magazine|Billboard]]''{{'s}} [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks|Black Singles]] chart. In 1964, he was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles.<ref name="mofmotl">{{Cite news |date=December 12, 1964 |title=Manager of motel shoots singing star |page=10 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |agency=Associated Press |location=Idaho |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TXxfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6334%2C1996941}}</ref> After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be a [[justifiable homicide]].<ref name="bookofhits">{{Cite book |last=Bronson |first=Fred |title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1955 to the Present |publisher=Billboard Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-8230-7677-6 |page=30}}</ref> His family has since questioned the circumstances of his death.
In 2015, Cooke was ranked number 28 in ''Billboard'' magazine's list of the "35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 12, 2015 |title=The 35 Greatest R&B Artists Of All Time |url=https://www.billboard.com/photos/6737387/best-r-and-b-singers-of-all-time |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref>

== Early life ==
<!-- Listing birth name as Samuel Cook for consistency with the previous reference, although Guralick's book Dream Boogie gives his name as Samuel Cook -->
Sam Cooke was born Samuel Cook in [[Clarksdale, Mississippi]], in 1931 (he added the "e" to his last name in 1958 to signify a new start to his life).<ref name="Guralnick">{{Cite book |last=Guralnick |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/dreamboogietrium00gura/page/9 |title=Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-316-37794-5 |author-link=Peter Guralnick |ref=none}}</ref><ref>Note: His headstone gives his birth year as 1930.</ref> He was the fifth of eight children of Rev. Charles Cook, a [[Baptist]] minister in the [[Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.|Church of Christ (Holiness)]], and the former Annie Mae Carroll. One of his younger brothers, L.C. (1932–2017),<ref name="L.C. Cooke obi">{{cite web |url=https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/l-c-cooke-december-14-1932-july-21-2017/|title=L.C. Cooke December 14, 1932 – July 21, 2017|date=July 21, 2017|accessdate=June 22, 2022|website=abkco.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Sam |url=https://officialsamcooke.com |website=Official Sam Cooke }}</ref> later became a member of the [[doo-wop]] band [[Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents]].{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=9–10, 17}} Cooke was raised [[Baptist]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Ken |title=Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/dream-boogie-the-triumph-of-sam-cooke-20060306-gdn3hd.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811212939/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/dream-boogie-the-triumph-of-sam-cooke-20060306-gdn3hd.html |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |date=March 6, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Cooke's family moved to Chicago in 1933.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=10}} There, he attended Doolittle Elementary and [[Wendell Phillips Academy High School]],{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=15, 22}} the same school that [[Nat 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.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=13–14}} Cooke first became known as lead singer with [[the Highway Q.C.'s]] when he was a teenager, having joined the group at the age of 14.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=29–31}} During this time, Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighbor [[Lou Rawls]], who sang in a rival gospel group.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=90}}

== Career ==
=== The Soul Stirrers ===
{{Main|The Soul Stirrers}}
In 1950, Cooke replaced gospel tenor [[R. H. Harris]] as lead singer of his gospel group [[The Soul Stirrers]], who had signed with [[Specialty Records]] on behalf of the group.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=65–68}} 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.<ref name="songsofsamcooke.com">{{Cite web |date=March 1, 1951 |title=Jesus Gave Me Water |url=http://songsofsamcooke.com/soulstirrers/jesus_gave_me_water.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216192534/http://songsofsamcooke.com/soulstirrers/jesus_gave_me_water.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2013 |access-date=February 13, 2013 |publisher=Songsofsamcooke.com}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=47}}

=== Crossover pop success ===
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 (Sam Cooke song)|Cupid]]", "[[Chain Gang (Sam Cooke song)|Chain Gang]]", "[[Wonderful World (Sam Cooke song)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eder |first=Bruce |title=Sam Cooke AllMusic |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-cooke-mn0000238115/biography |access-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref> He was also among the first modern [[Black people|Black]] 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 the [[Civil Rights Movement]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Guralnick |first=Peter |date=September 22, 2005 |title=The Man Who Invented Soul |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7661211/the_man_who_invented_soul |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206220302/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7661211/the_man_who_invented_soul |archive-date=February 6, 2009 |access-date=August 8, 2008 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|ref=none}}</ref>

[[File:Sam Cooke billboard.jpg|thumb|left|Cooke in ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', 1965, released posthumously]]
Sam Cooke's first pop/soul single was "Lovable" (1956), a remake of the gospel song "Wonderful". It was released under the [[pseudonym|alias]] "Dale Cook"<ref name="pc17">{{Cite journal |date=June 22, 1969 |title=Show 17 – The Soul Reformation: More on the evolution of rhythm and blues |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19767/m1 |access-date=September 22, 2010 |website=[[Pop Chronicles]] |publisher=Digital Library, University of North Texas |last1=John |first1=Gilliland }}</ref> 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<ref name=bookofhits /> — 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 producer [[Bumps 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 singing [[Gershwin]], he was quite upset. After an argument between Rupe and Blackwell, Cooke and Blackwell left the label.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=171–180}}

"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|date=July 2023}}

In 1957, Sam Cooke appeared on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] ''[[The 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 (George Gershwin song)|Summertime]]",<ref name=pc17 />{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=167}} spent six weeks at No. 1 on the [[List of No. 1 R&B hits (United States)|Billboard R&B chart]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Cooke |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/sam-cooke |access-date=October 10, 2017 |website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame}}</ref> The song also had mainstream success, spending three weeks at No. 1 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' pop]] chart.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dean |first=Maury |title=Rock 'N' Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-cyclopedia |publisher=Algora Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=0-87586-207-1 |page=176}}</ref> It elevated him from earning $200 a week to over $5,000 a week ({{Inflation|US|5000|1957|fmt=eq|r=-3}}).<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|url=https://archive.org/details/variety209-1958-02/page/n1/mode/1up?view=theater|title=Sam Cooke Finds Single Click Leads to Big Payoff On One-Nighters, Video|date=February 5, 1958|page=2|via=[[Archive.org]]|access-date=September 25, 2021}}</ref>{{Inflation/fn|US}}

In 1958, Cooke performed for the famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.|Leon Hefflin]] held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were [[Little Willie John]], [[Ray Charles]], [[Ernie Freeman]], and [[Bo 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.<ref name="Guralnick" />
[[File:Cupid - Farewell My Darling - Billboard ad 1961.jpg|thumb|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement, May 29, 1961]] 
Cooke signed with the [[RCA Victor]] record label in January 1960, having been offered an advance of $100,000 (equivalent to{{nbsp}}${{Inflation|US|0.1|1960|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US}}){{Inflation/fn|US}} by the label's producers [[Hugo & Luigi]].<ref name="BbJan60">{{Cite magazine |date=January 18, 1960 |title=Sam Cooke Signs With Hugo-Luigi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4x4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref><ref name="CBJan60">{{Cite magazine |date=January 23, 1960 |title=RCA Victor Signs Sam Cooke |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-Cash-Box-IDX/60s/1960/CB-1960-01-23-OCR-Page-0052.pdf |magazine=[[Cash Box (magazine)|Cash Box]] |location=New York |access-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref> One of his first RCA Victor singles was "[[Chain Gang (Sam Cooke song)|Chain Gang]]", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop chart.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=338}} It was followed by more hits, including "Sad Mood",{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=348, 361}} "[[Cupid (Sam Cooke song)|Cupid]]",{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=362}} "[[Bring It On Home to Me]]" (with [[Lou Rawls]] on backing vocals),{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=404–407}} "[[Another Saturday Night]]",{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=460}} and "[[Twistin' the Night Away]]".{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=390, 396}}

In 1961, Cooke started his own record label, [[SAR Records]], with [[J. W. Alexander (musician)|J. W. Alexander]] and his manager, Roy Crain.<ref name="musichistory">{{Cite book |last1=Warner |first1=Jay |url=https://archive.org/details/onthisdayinblack00warn/page/10 |title=On This Day in Black Music History |last2=Jones, Quincy |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2006 |isbn=0-634-09926-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/onthisdayinblack00warn/page/10 10]}}</ref> The label soon included the Simms Twins, [[the Valentinos]] (who were [[Bobby Womack]] and his brothers), [[Mel Carter]] and [[Johnnie Taylor]]. Cooke then created a publishing imprint and management firm named Kags.<ref name="Goodman">{{Cite book |last=Goodman |first=Fred |title=Allen Klein: The Man Who Bailed Out the Beatles, Made the Stones, and Transformed Rock & Roll |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-547-89686-1 |page=40}}</ref>

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-received [[blues music|blues]]-inflected LP in 1963, ''[[Night Beat (Sam Cooke album)|Night Beat]]'', and his most critically acclaimed studio album, ''[[Ain't That Good News (album)|Ain't That Good News]]'', which featured five singles, in 1964.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Cooke – Billboard Charts |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/sam-cooke |access-date=January 3, 2019 |website=2019 Billboard}}</ref>

In 1963, Cooke signed a five-year contract for [[Allen Klein]] to manage Kags Music and [[SAM Records|SAR Records]], and made him his manager. Klein negotiated a five-year deal (three years plus two option years) with [[RCA Records|RCA 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.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=44–46}}

== Vocal ability ==
Cooke is widely considered one of the greatest singers and most accomplished vocalists of all time. His incredibly pure tenor voice was big, velvety and expansive, with an instantly recognizable tone. Cooke's pitch was remarkable, and his manner of singing was effortlessly soulful. 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 like [[Otis Redding]], [[James Brown]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[Johnny Nash]], [[Tina Turner]], [[Wilson Pickett]], [[Mick Jagger]], [[Al Green]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[Diana Ross]], [[Marvin Gaye]], [[Steve Perry]], and [[Stevie Wonder]] among many others.

== Personal life ==
Cooke was married twice.<ref name="Ebony" /> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Louie |date=December 31, 1964 |title=Tragedy-Filled Love of Singer Sam Cooke: Death Shocks Singer's Fans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xcADAAAAMBAJ&q=sam+cooke+married+Dolores&pg=PA58 |magazine=Jet |volume=27 |issue=13 |pages=56–65}}</ref>{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=101,105}} She was killed in an auto collision in [[Fresno, California]], in 1959.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=282}} Although Cooke and Milligan were divorced,{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=243}} he paid for his ex-wife's funeral expenses.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Ebony" /><ref name="Guralnick" />

In 1958 Cooke married his second wife, Barbara Campbell (1935–2021), in Chicago.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=303}} His father performed the ceremony.<ref name=":0" /> They had three children: [[Linda Womack|Linda]] (b. 1953),{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=102}} Tracy (b. 1960), and Vincent (1961–1963), who drowned in the family swimming pool.<ref name="Ebony">{{Cite book |last=Robinson, Louie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JeEDAAAAMBAJ&q=sam+cooke&pg=PA93 |title=The Tragic Death of Sam Cooke |date=February 1965 |publisher=Ebony |pages=92–96 |access-date=December 21, 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=412, 499–500}}<ref name=":0" />
Cooke also fathered at least three other children out of wedlock.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=217, 229, 381, 389}} In 1958, a woman in Philadelphia, Connie Bolling,<ref name="Guralnick" /> said Cooke was the father of her son. Cooke paid her an estimated $5,000 settlement out of court.<ref name=":0" />

In November 1958, Cooke was involved in a car crash en route from [[St. Louis]] to [[Greenville, Mississippi]]. His [[chauffeur]] Edward Cunningham was killed, while Cooke, guitarist Cliff White, and singer [[Lou Rawls]] were hospitalized.<ref name=":0" />

Cooke was a central part of the [[civil rights movement]], using his influence and popularity with the White and Black populations to fight for the cause. Cooke was friends with boxer [[Muhammad Ali]], activist [[Malcolm X]] and football player [[Jim Brown]], who together campaigned for racial equality.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-history-behind-one-night-miami-180976768/ | title=The True History Behind 'One Night in Miami' }}</ref>

== Death ==

Cooke was shot and killed on December 11, 1964, at the Hacienda Motel at 91st and South Figueroa streets in [[Vermont Vista, Los Angeles|South 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krajicek |first=David |title=The Death of Sam Cooke |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/9.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210053736/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/9.html |archive-date=February 10, 2015 |access-date=September 9, 2016 |website=[[Crime Library]]}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 24, 1964 |title=Singer Sam Cooke Shot To Death |pages=62–63 |work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xMADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62}}</ref>{{sfn|Goodman|2015|p=57}} The motel's owner, Evelyn Carr,<ref group="note">Some sources identify the motel owner's last name as "Card," according to Guralnick</ref> 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.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=619}}

The police record states that Franklin fatally shot Cooke, who had checked in earlier that evening.<ref name="Wolff">{{Cite book |last=Wolff, Daniel |url=https://archive.org/details/yousendmelifetim00wolff |title=You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke |date=1995 |publisher=[[William Morrow and Company|William Morrow]] |isbn=0-688-12403-8 |location=New York City}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=619, 627}}

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 the [[torso]]. 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. A [[coroner]]'s [[inquest]] was convened to investigate the incident.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=619, 627–628}}

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 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.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=616–619}}

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's [[Ferrari]] found a money clip with $108 ({{Inflation|US|108|1964|fmt=eq}}),{{Inflation/fn|US}} as well as a few loose coins near the ashtray.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krajicek |first=David |title=The Death of Sam Cooke |url=http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/11.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210053736/http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/11.html |archive-date=February 10, 2015 |access-date=September 9, 2016 |website=CrimeLibrary.com}}</ref>

As Carr's testimony [[corroborating evidence|corroborated]] Franklin's version of events, and because both Boyer and Franklin later passed [[polygraph]] tests,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 16, 1964 |title=Shooting of Sam Cooke Held 'Justifiable Homicide' |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/17/archives/shooting-of-sam-cooke-held-justifiable-homicide.html}}</ref> the [[coroner's jury]] ultimately accepted Franklin's explanation and returned a verdict of [[justifiable homicide]].<ref name=bookofhits /> With that verdict, authorities officially closed the case on Cooke's death.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=626–629}}

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.<ref>Multiple sources:
*{{Cite news |last=Milicia |first=Joe |date=December 6, 2005 |title=Sam Cooke's story told from 'the inside out' — A thorough effort to give him his due |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-116060846.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105204309/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-116060846.html |archive-date=November 5, 2012 |quote=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 the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum]]. }}
*{{Cite book |last=Greene |first=Erik |title=Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story from His Family's Perspective |date=2006 |publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] |isbn=1-4122-0987-0 |location=Victoria, Canada}}
*{{Cite magazine |last=James |first=Gary |date=January 27, 1992 |title=Interview with Solomon Burke |url=http://www.classicbands.com/SolomonBurkeInterview.html |magazine=Classic Bands |quote=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.}}
*{{harvnb|Guralnick|2005|pp=642–643}}
*{{Cite news |last=Drozdowski |first=Ted |date=March 14–21, 2002 |title=Soul man, Sam Cooke's fulfilling late period |work=[[The Boston Phoenix]] |url=http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/other_stories/documents/02192128.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=May 19, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528185941/http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/music/other_stories/documents/02192128.htm |archive-date=May 28, 2006 |quote=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.}}
</ref><ref name="Gordon">{{Cite news |last=Gordon |first=Ed |date=November 16, 2005 |title='Dream Boogie': The Life and Death of Sam Cooke |work=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5014891 |quote=...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.}}</ref><ref name="Hildebrand">{{Cite news |last=Hildebrand |first=Lee |date=April 10, 2007 |title=Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick tackles another music legend: Sam Cooke |work=[[San Francisco Bay Guardian]] |quote='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.'}}</ref>

On the perceived lack of an investigation, Cooke's close friend [[Muhammad Ali]] said: "If Cooke had been Frank Sinatra, the Beatles or Ricky Nelson, the FBI would be investigating."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/movies/why-mystery-still-shrouds-singer-sam-cookes-shooting-death-nearly-60-years-later/|title = Why Mystery Still Shrouds Singer Sam Cooke's Shooting Death Nearly 60 Years Later|first=Jordan|last=Runtagh|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref>

Singer [[Etta 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=James |first1=Etta |url=https://archive.org/details/ragetosurviveett00jame/page/151 |title=Rage To Survive: The Etta James Story |last2=Ritz |first2=David |date=2003 |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |isbn=0-306-81262-2 |location=New York City |page=[https://archive.org/details/ragetosurviveett00jame/page/151 151] |author-link1=Etta James}}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Goodman|2015|pp=57–58}} However, no concrete evidence supporting a [[criminal conspiracy]] has been presented.<ref name="Gordon"/><ref name="Hildebrand"/>

=== Aftermath ===
[[File:Sam Cooke Grave.JPG|thumb|200px|Grave of Sam Cooke in the Garden of Honor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California]]
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.<ref name=Ebony /><ref name="About">{{Cite web |last=Fontenot |first=Robert |title=Today in Oldies Music History: December 18 |url=http://oldies.about.com/od/oldieshistory/a/Today-In-Oldies-Music-History-December-18.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906092613/http://oldies.about.com/od/oldieshistory/a/Today-In-Oldies-Music-History-December-18.htm |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |access-date=August 31, 2015 |website=[[about.com]]}}</ref>

Afterward, Cooke's body was flown back to Los Angeles for a second service, at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on December 19,<ref name="Corbis">{{Cite web |title=Crowd at Sam Cooke's Funeral |url=http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/BE063840/crowd-at-sam-cookes-funeral |access-date=August 31, 2015 |publisher=Corbis Images}}</ref> which included a much-heralded performance of "The Angels Keep Watching Over Me" by [[Ray Charles]], who stood in for a grief-stricken [[Bessie Griffin]]. Cooke was interred at [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery]] in [[Glendale, California]].<ref name=Ebony /><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Sean J. |date=March 13, 2014 |title=Here's Where Five Soul Legends Are Buried in L.A. |url=https://www.laweekly.com/heres-where-five-soul-legends-are-buried-in-l-a/ |website=[[LA Weekly]]}}</ref>

Two singles and an album were released in the month after Cooke's death. One of the singles, "[[Shake (Sam Cooke song)|Shake]]", reached the top ten of both the pop and R&B charts. The B-side, "[[A Change Is Gonna Come]]", is considered a classic [[protest song]] from the era of the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 16, 2007 |title=Sam Cooke's Swan Song of Protest |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17267529 |access-date=August 8, 2008 |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> It was a [[Top 40]] pop hit and a top 10 R&B hit. The album, also titled [[Shake (Sam Cooke album)|''Shake'']], 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.<ref name="washington">{{Cite news |date=April 6, 1965 |title=Cooke's killer sues his estate |page=1 |work=[[Washington Afro-American]]}}</ref> 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 $200,000 (equivalent to{{nbsp}}${{Inflation|US|0.2|1965|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US}}){{Inflation/fn|US}} of [[compensatory damages|compensatory]] and [[punitive damages]].<ref name=washington />

Barbara Womack [[countersue]]d Franklin on behalf of the estate, seeking $7,000 ({{Inflation|US|7000|1965|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) 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 ({{Inflation|US|30000|1967|fmt=eq|r=-3}}).<ref>{{cite news |title=Slayer of Singer Gets $30,000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/05/25/archives/slayer-of-singer-gets-30000.html |work=[[The New York Times]]|editor-last=Catledge|editor-first=Turner|editor-link=Turner Catledge|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614115158/https://woodstockwhisperer.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/sam-cooke-payment.jpg|archive-date=June 14, 2023|url-status=dead|date=May 25, 1967}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 10, 1967 |title=Will Sam Cooke's widow appeal? |page=10 |work=[[The Afro-American]]}}</ref>{{Inflation/fn|US}}

== Legacy ==
Cooke's contribution to soul music contributed to the rise of [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Bobby Womack]], [[Al Green]], [[Curtis Mayfield]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Marvin Gaye]], and [[Billy Preston]], and popularized the work of [[Otis Redding]] and [[James Brown]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/africanaartslett0000unse/page/146 |title=Africana: An A-to-Z Reference of Writers, Musicians, and Artists of the African American Experience |publisher=Running Press |year=2004 |isbn=0-7624-2042-1 |editor-last=Appiah |editor-first=Kwame Anthony |page=[https://archive.org/details/africanaartslett0000unse/page/146 146] |editor-last2=Gates |editor-first2=Henry Louis Jr.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=DeCurtis |first1=Anthony |title=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and their Music |last2=Henke, James |publisher=Random House |year=1992 |isbn=0-679-73728-6 |page=135}}</ref><ref name="ROCK ON ALMANAC">{{Cite book |last=Nite |first=Norm N. |title=Rock On Almanac: The First Four Decades of Rock 'n' Roll: A Chronology |publisher=[[Harper & Row|HarperPerennial]] |year=1992 |isbn=0-06-273157-2 |location=New York |pages=140–142}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eder |first=Bruce |title=Sam Cooke: Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-cooke-mn0000238115/biography |access-date=September 2, 2014 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>

=== Portrayals ===
Cooke was portrayed by [[Paul Mooney (comedian)|Paul Mooney]] in ''[[The Buddy Holly Story]]'', a 1978 American biographical film which tells the life story of [[Rock and roll|rock musician]] [[Buddy Holly]].

In the stage play ''[[One Night in Miami (play)|One Night in Miami]]'', first performed in 2013, Cooke was portrayed by [[Arinzé Kene]]. In the [[One Night in Miami...|2020 film adaptation]], he is played by [[Leslie Odom Jr.]], who was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his portrayal.

=== Posthumous honors ===
* In 1986, Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Cooke |url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/sam-cooke |access-date=August 8, 2008 |publisher=rockhall.com}}</ref>
* In 1987, Cooke was inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2015 |title=Sam Cooke Biography |url=http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/exhibits/bio/C117 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220031954/http://songwritershalloffame.org/index.php/exhibits/bio/C117 |archive-date=February 20, 2012 |access-date=February 21, 2015 |website=Songwriters Hall of Fame}}</ref>
* In 1989, Cooke was inducted a second time to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the Soul Stirrers were inducted.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Death of Sam Cooke – Crime Library on truTV.com |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/12.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207183551/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/sam_cooke/12.html |archive-date=February 7, 2009 |access-date=April 25, 2020}}</ref>
* On February 1, 1994, Cooke received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] for his contributions to the music industry, located on 7051 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Cooke {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/sam-cooke |access-date=June 12, 2016 |website=www.walkoffame.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Walk of Fame (1994) |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000693/1994 |access-date=June 12, 2016 |website=IMDb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Sam Cooke |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/sam-cooke/ |access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref>
* Although Cooke never won a [[Grammy Award]], he received the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]] in 1999,<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 19, 2019 |title=Sam Cooke |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/sam-cooke |website=Recording Academy Grammy Awards}}</ref> presented by [[Larry Blackmon]] of funk super-group [[Cameo (band)|Cameo]].
* In 2004, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked Cooke 16th on its list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time|100 Greatest Artists of All Time]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 15, 2004 |title=The Immortals: The First Fifty |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316103016/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 16, 2006 |publisher=Rolling Stone (Issue 946)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Art Garfunkel |date=December 2, 2010 |title=100 Greatest Artists: 16. Sam Cooke |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-artists-of-all-time-19691231/sam-cooke-20110420 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref>
* In 2008, Cooke was named the fourth "Greatest Singer of All Time" by ''Rolling Stone''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 27, 2008 |title=100 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/sam-cooke-20101202 |publisher=Rolling Stone (Issue 1066)}}</ref>
* In 2008, Cooke received the first plaque on the [[Clarksdale Walk of Fame]], located at the New Roxy Theater.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gage |first1=Justin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPsG6vFFfUoC&q=Clarksdale+walk+of+fame+sam+cooke&pg=PA143 |title=Explorer's Guide Memphis & the Delta Blues Trail: A Great Destination (Explorer's Great Destinations) |last2=Gage |first2=Melissa |publisher=The Countryman Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-58157-923-9 |page=143 |language=en}}</ref>
* In 2009, Cooke was honored with a marker on the [[Mississippi Blues Trail]] in Clarksdale.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sam Cooke |url=http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/sam-cooke |website=Mississippi Blues Trail}}</ref>
* 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. Many of his family were also in attendance, as many of them were living in the Chicago area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 20, 2011 |title=Chicago Honors Sam Cooke With His Own Street |url=http://newsone.com/nation/good-news-nation/casey-gane-mccalla/chicago-honors-sam-cooke-with-his-own-street |access-date=February 10, 2012 |publisher=News One}}</ref>
* In 2013, Cooke was inducted into the [[National Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame]] in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, at [[Cleveland State University]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nash |first=JD |date=January 20, 2015 |title=This Week in Blues Past: Janis Joplin, sam Cooke, BB King's Record Collection – American Blues Scene |work=American Blues Scene |url=https://www.americanbluesscene.com/2015/01/week-blues-past-janis-joplin-sam-cooke-bb-kings-record-collection/ |access-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref> The founder of the [[National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame]], LaMont Robinson, said he was the greatest singer ever to sing.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 5, 2014 |title=Clarksdale beats Memphis and Detroit for R&B Music Hall of Fame Museum |work=WREG.com |url=http://wreg.com/2014/11/04/clarksdale-beats-memphis-and-detroit-for-rb-music-hall-of-fame-museum/ |access-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref>
* The words "[[A Change Is Gonna Come]]" from the Sam Cooke song of the same name are on a wall of the Contemplative Court, a space for reflection in the [[Smithsonian]]'s [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]]; the museum opened in 2016.<ref name="smithsonianmag2017">{{Cite magazine |last=Keyes |first=Allison |year=2017 |title=In This Quiet Space for Contemplation, a Fountain Rains Down Calming Waters |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/quiet-space-contemplation-fountain-rains-down-calming-waters-180964981/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=March 10, 2018}}</ref>
* Cooke is inducted into the [[Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inductees: Rhythm and Blues (R & B) |url=http://www.msmusic.org/mississippi-rhythm-and-blues-musicians.html |website=Mississippi Musicians Music Hall of Fame |access-date=November 4, 2019 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727012901/http://www.msmusic.org/mississippi-rhythm-and-blues-musicians.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* In 2020, [[Dion DiMucci|Dion]] released a song and music video as a tribute to Cooke called "Song for Sam Cooke (Here in America)" (featuring [[Paul Simon]]) from his album ''[[Joe Bonamassa#Keeping the Blues Alive Records|Blues with Friends]]''. ''[[American Songwriter]]'' magazine honored "Song for Sam Cooke" as the "Greatest of the Great 2020 Songs".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Zollo|first=Paul|date=November 22, 2020|title=Greatest of the Great 2020 Songs: Dion with Paul Simon, "Song for Sam Cooke (Here In America)".|url=https://americansongwriter.com/greatest-of-the-great-2020-songs-dion-with-paul-simon-song-for-sam-cooke-here-in-america/|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=American Songwriter|language=en-US}}</ref>
* In 2023, Cooke was named the third "Greatest Singer of All Time" by ''Rolling Stone''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 1, 2023 |title=The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-singers-all-time-1234642307/sam-cooke-5-1234643210/ |publisher=Rolling Stone}}</ref>
* In 2024, [[Elliot James Reay]] released a song "Boy in Love" in which he pays homage to Cooke with the lyrics "But, now, when Sam Cooke sings, she got me whistling along".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elliot James Reay |url=https://www.thestardustmag.com/covers/elliot-james-reay |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=Stardust Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> 
* In 2025, ''Rolling Stone'' placed "A Change Is Gonna Come" at number 1 on its list of "The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time".<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 Best Protest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-protest-songs-1235154848/ |publisher=Rolling Stone |date=27 January 2025 |access-date=27 January 2025}}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Main|Sam Cooke discography}}
* ''[[Sam Cooke (album)|Sam Cooke]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Encore (Sam Cooke album)|Encore]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Tribute to the Lady]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Cooke's Tour]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Hits of the 50's]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Swing Low (album)|Swing Low]]'' (1961)
* ''[[My Kind of Blues (Sam Cooke album)|My Kind of Blues]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Twistin' the Night Away (album)|Twistin' the Night Away]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Mr. Soul (Sam Cooke album)|Mr. Soul]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Night Beat (Sam Cooke album)|Night Beat]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Ain't That Good News (album)|Ain't That Good News]]'' (1964)

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book|title=Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke|last=Guralnick|first=Peter|year=2005|publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=0-316-37794-5}}
* ''Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story from His Family's Perspective'' by Erik Greene (2005) {{ISBN|1-4120-6498-8}}
* ''You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke'' by Daniel Wolff, S. R. Crain, Clifton White, and G. David Tenenbaum (1995) {{ISBN|0-688-12403-8}}
* ''One More River to Cross: The Redemption of Sam Cooke'' by B. G. Rhule (2012) {{ISBN|978-1-4675-2856-6}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Burford|first=Mark|date=2012|title=Sam Cooke as Pop Album Artist—A Reinvention in Three Songs|journal=Journal of the American Musicological Society|volume=65|issue=1|pages=113–178|doi=10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113|jstor=10.1525/jams.2012.65.1.113}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links|d=Q295919|c=Category:Sam Cooke|q=Sam Cooke|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}
* [http://www.samcooke.com/ Sam Cooke (ABKCO Homepage)]
* {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p3960|label=Sam Cooke}}
* {{IMDb name|0177492}}
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114175724/http://www.bluejuice.org.au/subpage17.html |date=November 14, 2007 |title=Rosco Gordon interview}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091120233415/http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-08-05/music/black-elvis/ "Black Elvis"] by ''[[The Village Voice]]''
* {{Rockhall}}

{{Sam Cooke|state=expanded}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Sam Cooke
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{{Grammy Award for Best Music Film}}
{{1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
}}
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