Yesterday, the 22nd of January, 2011 would have marked the iconic soul singer Sam Cooke’s 80th birthday.
The singer - a personal favourite of mine - changed the face of music. After achieving considerable success on the Chitlin’ Circuit touring with gospel group The Soul Stirrers in the 1950s, Cooke decided to break from religious music and record a secular pop song.
In order not to be shunned from his lucrative career as a gospel singer he released his first single ‘Loveable’ under the name Dale Cooke in 1956 but when the gospel community recognised his voice he decided to shun them and try to make it as a pop singer.
Throughout the late 50s and early 60s Cooke had a number of hits that were popular with both black and white audiences including ‘You Send Me’, ‘Cupid’, ‘Chain Gang’, ‘Soothe Me', 'Sad Mood’, ‘Twistin’ The Night Away’, ‘Having A Party’, ‘Bring It On Home To Me’, ‘Another Saturday Night’ and more.
His songs continue to be big earners after their own success and covers from artists including Aretha Franklin, John Lennon, The Animals, The Neville Brothers Sam & Dave and Rod Stewart, who claims Cooke was his biggest influence when he was finding his own voice. More recent covers were recorded by Seal, R. Kelly and Colin Meloy from The Decemberists who released a five song EP of Cooke covers.
Shortly before his death he recorded a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowing In The Wind’ which reportedly inspired him to write the powerful ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, which was released posthumously. It became a huge success for him after his death and is one of the first protest songs written by an African American artist.
His live performances were notoriously energetic, as evidenced by the album 'Live At Harlem Square Club, 1963', which is often revered as the greatest live album of all time. It was finally released in 1985 and shows the energy of Cooke's live performances with his band and a raucous audience captured through just eight microphones giving it such a raw feel that you would swear you were in the room watching the performance yourself.
Details of his death are sketchy at best. On December 11, 1964, when he was just 32 years old he was shot in a Californian hotel by hotel manager Bertha Franklin. Reportedly his last words were “Lady, you shot me.”
The shooting was ruled as a justifiable homicide after a court found that Cooke had violently grabbed Franklin demanding to know where the woman he had taken home with him that night was although some fans still claim that there was a conspiracy to murder him. Fellow soul singer Etta James claimed in her autobiography that after viewing Cooke’s body she believed that his injuries did not match up to the story that was accepted in court.
So, to Sam Cooke, we wish you a happy 80th birthday, wherever you are. The change you once dreamed of is almost here.
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Check out the Undercover interview with soul legend Darlene Love below:
