Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter better known as Sam Cooke. Cooke is widely regarded as a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time and is known as the “King of Soul” for his distinctive vocals, significant contributions to the genre, and influence on popular music.
Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child, where he began singing and later joined the Soul Stirrers as lead singer in the 1950s. Cooke went solo in 1957 and had a string of hits, including “You Send Me”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “Cupid”, “Wonderful World”, “Chain Gang”, “Twistin’ the Night Away”, “Bring It On Home to Me”, and “Good Times”. Cooke had 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Pop Singles chart and 20 singles that charted in the Top Ten of the Billboard Black Singles chart during his eight-year career.
Sam Cook’s cause of death: How did Sam Cooke die?
Cooke was shot and killed by the manager of a Los Angeles motel in 1964. Cooke’s death was ruled a justifiable homicide after an inquest and investigation.
Cooke was shot and killed by the manager of a Los Angeles motel in 1964. [6] Cooke’s death was ruled a justifiable homicide after an inquest and investigation.
His death has since been called into question by his family. Cooke’s contributions to soul music aided the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, as well as popularizing the work of Otis Redding and James Brown.
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”.
