Samuel Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931. (he added the “e” to his last name in 1957 to signify a new start to his life).
He was the fifth of eight children born to Rev. Charles Cook, a minister of the Church of Christ (Holiness), and Annie Mae Cook. L.C. (1932-2017), one of his younger brothers, later became a member of the doo-wop group Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents.
Who is Sam Cooke’s wife Barbara Campbell?
Barbara Campbell Cooke, widow of the late Sam Cooke, died at the age of 85. They were teenage sweethearts, but their marriage ended tragically, and when she married Bobby Womack’s protégé singer, the publicity was intense and the boos were loud.
In 1933, the family moved to Chicago. Cook went to Doolittle Elementary and Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, where Nat “King” Cole had gone a few years before. Cooke began his career with his siblings in a group called the Singing Children when he was six years old.
He rose to prominence as the Highway Q.C.’s lead singer when he was a teenager, having joined the group at the age of 14. During this time, Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighbor Lou Rawls, who sang in a rival gospel group.
