Sam Cooke

Singer-songwriter

January 22, 1931 Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States

December 11, 1964 Los Angeles, California, United States

Barbara Campbell (m. 1959–1964), Dolores Mohawk (m. 1953–1957)

Samuel Cook or Sam Cooke (as he was professionally known) was one of the greatest American singers. He was also a song writer, recording artist, and entrepreneur. He is famously remembered as the ‘King of Soul’ for his contribution to popular music. He was even credited as ‘the inventor of soul music’ by ‘All Music’ biographer Bruce Eder. He created a connection between soul and pop music, and boasted of a range of works that entertained audience belonging to varied ethnicities and cultures. He influenced other popular musicians like Aretha Franklin, Art Garfunkel, Rod Stewart, Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and James Brown. He delivered around 30 hits in eight years. Even after his death, three of his posthumously released songs became immensely popular. Some of his hit songs are ‘Chain Gang,’ ‘You Send Me,’ ‘Cupid,’ ‘A Change Is Gonna Come,’ ‘Wonderful World,’ and ‘Twistin' the Night Away.’ He was one of the earliest musicians to explore the business prospect of a musical career and launched his own record label and publishing company. He also actively participated in the ‘Civil Rights Movement.’ He died at a young age of 33; there was a lot of speculation surrounding the circumstances of his death.