Sam Cooke

Date of Birth
22 January 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

Date of Death
11 December 1964, Los Angeles, California, USA (gunshot)

Birth Name
Samuel Cook

Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)

Mini Biography
Sam Cooke was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 22, 1931. He was one of eight children of Charles Cook Sr., who was a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special". He sang in Church and in local gospel choirs until a group called the Highway Q.C.'s asked him to sing with them at various venues. By the time Cooke reached 20, his voice was a finely honed instrument and he was noted for bringing the spirit up in church-goers.

When Sam replaced R.H. Harris, the legendary lead singer for the extremely popular gospel group called The Soul Stirrers, it was the beginning of Sam's meteoric rise. Cooke sang with the group for six years, traveling back and forth across the country and gained a wealth of knowledge regarding how black people were treated. His refusal to sing at a segregated concert led to what many have described as one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience and helped usher in the new Civil Rights Movement.

After several Gospel Albums, Sam decided it was time to crossover from gospel (And against almost everyone's wishes.) to record some soul and rhythm & blues. Because of his good looks and intonation he was an instant success. His first single released in 1957 was "You Send Me" and sold over a million copies, which made Sam an "overnight success" in the business. He was on his way to becoming the biggest voice on the radio. Record producers vied to sign him to a contract. In 1960, Cooke became the first major black artist to sign with RCA Records. Sam was not happy with the deal and when the time was right, decided to start his own publishing company (KAGS Music) to keep control over his music and his own record company (SAR/Derby) to keep control of his money.

Sam married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, in 1959 and had they had three children. Tragically, Vincent their youngest, drowned in their swimming pool at age four in June 1964.

On the night of December 11, 1964, Cooke was set up to be robbed of Christmas money he'd withdrawn earlier in the day for gifts. After the robbery, he was murdered by Motel Manager - Bertha Franklin, who'd shot and killed a man six months earlier at the same motel. That night, Sam picked up Elisa Boyer, a call-girl (known for "rolling drunks" and escaping with whatever she could when they were passed out, or knocked out.) in a bar at a restaurant. They went to a seedy motel in Watts and registered as Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cooke. After going into the room, Cooke was clubbed in the head and knocked out momentarily. Boyer grabbed his clothes and ran to the motel office to split the money with Bertha Franklin.

When Cooke came to he was disoriented, pant-less and wallet-less. He stumbled to the motel office and saw Boyer and Franklin counting his money ($2,500. in 1960 dollars was a LOT) through the window. He demanded his pants, money and wallet back. When they didn't open the door, Cooke knocked on it as hard as he could and it came off the hinges. When he got up off the floor, Mrs. Franklin shot him then instructed Boyer to run down the street and call police from a phone booth. Boyer told them a phony story about a rape and left the scene and subsequently disappeared. Sam was dead when the police arrived and since Boyer had stolen his wallet they had no idea who it was and took it as a routine justified homicide in the ghetto.

The coroner's inquest was a slam dunk ... not one pertinent question asked by an investigator, or back round check of Bertha Franklin's shooting past. They simply took her made up story for what actually happened. Sam's murder was just chalked up to just another unidentified "rapist" killed in Watts. Until the next Monday morning when a reporter found out Sam Cooke was signed in to the motel registry as himself and that one of the world's greatest talents and a true human being was dead, under shady circumstances that might never be covered by the media, since it's been 45 years.


Mini Biography
Sam Cooke was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 22, 1931. He was one of seven children of Charles Cooke Sr., who was a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special." He sang in his father's church until joining a group called the Highway Q.C.'s in his sophomore year in high school.

When Sam replaced R.H. Harris, the legendary lead singer for the extremely popular gospel group called The Soul Stirrers, it was the beginning of Sam's meteoric rise. Cooke sang with the group for six years, traveling back and forth across the country and gained a wealth of knowledge regarding how black people were treated. His refusal to sing at a segregated concert led to what many have described as one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience and helped usher in the new Civil Rights Movement.

After becoming one of the most recognized names in gospel, Sam decided to crossover from gospel to the more lucrative world of popular music. Because of his good looks and intonation, he was an instant success. His first single released in 1957 was "You Send Me" and sold over 1.7 million copies, and made Sam an "overnight success." Considered the very first Soul single, "You Send Me" combined Cooke's gospel background with rhythm and blues.

Having already established his own publishing company (KAGS Music) and record label (SAR/Derby), Cooke signed an unprecedented record deal with RCA in January of 1960. The deal allowed Cooke to retain his songwriter's royalties, a financially lucrative move since he had written most of his best-selling material.

Sam married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, in 1959 and had they had three children. Tragically, Vincent their youngest, drowned in their swimming pool at age four in June 1964.

According to the "official version" of events, Cooke ran into Elisa Boyer at Martoni's restaurant on the evening of December 10, 1964. After making a stop at a nightclub called PJ's, the two continued on to the Hacienda Motel in El Segundo, California on the early morning of December 11, 1964.

Cooke supposedly dragged Ms. Boyer into the room and proceeded to undress her against her will. She escaped while Cooke was in the bathroom, scooping up her clothes in addition to some of Cooke's, and an estimated $5000 of his money. Cooke, half-dressed, was said to have gone to the motel manager's office and knocked violently at the door, provoking Bertha Franklin to shoot him in self-defense.

There were several questionable factors surrounding Sam Cooke's death, including shoddy investigation by the Los Angeles Police Dept., several unasked and unanswered questions in the coroner's inquest, and the questionable background of Boyer and Franklin themselves. Boyer, for example, was a well-known prostitute in Hollywood (begging the question why would she say she was in a motel against her will?), and was said to have routinely run robbery scams with Franklin - an ex-prostitute herself. It has long been the theory that Sam Cooke was taken to the Hacienda against his will, and that Boyer and Franklin were pawns in the cover-up.

Sam Cooke was becoming a powerful figure not just on the music scene, but on the business side of the industry as well. His refusal to succumb to outside influences had become career-threatening, and behind-the-scene factors concerning his death have been written about extensively in a biography from his family's perspective.


Spouse
Barbara Campbell (9 October 1959 - 11 December 1964) (his death) 3 children
Dolores Mohawk (19 October 1953 - 1957)

Trivia
His song, "Somewhere There's a Girl" was written in honor of his first wife, Delores, after she had been killed in a car crash.

He screen-tested for a role in The Cincinnati Kid (1965).

He added the "e" to his last name in 1957 to signify a new start to his life.

Uncle of singer R.B. Greaves of "Take a Letter Maria" fame. First recorded secular songs in 1956 as Dale Cook on Specialty Records.

1948 graduate of Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago.

Charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of The Soul Stirrers) in 1989 (under the category Early Influences).

Father of Linda M. Womack.

He was voted the 16th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.

He was a huge influence on other R&B and rock-'n-roll singers. Among others, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye considered him a favorite.

His song "A Change is Gonna Come", drastically different from most of his other work, was penned by Cooke after he was moved by Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind". This indicated Cooke may have started to make darker, more socially-conscious work if he had lived.

Cousin of Stan Shaw.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987.

Voted the fourth greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll in 2008.

Released his first pop single "Lovable" (1956) under the name of Dale Cooke. At the time, there were negative feelings in the gospel singing community about pop music.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7051 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Brother of L.C. Cooke.