Posted by American singer-songwriter Sam Cook, known by his stage name Sam Cooke, was born January 22, 1931. Like most artist in his day, he got his start in the church. Singing with local groups like the Highway Q.C’s and the Soul Stirrers. Sam eventually crossed over from gospel to pop music and was basically a sensation. I’m going to fast forward here but basically he had all the bops and the white people couldn’t get enough.
However, Sam was always pained by the state at which society was around him. Growing up in an era of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the death of Emmett Till, it really weighed heavy on his heart. He began to make music that reflected the times and what his people were really going through. He became friends with the likes of Malcom X and Muhammad Ali, and of course this put him in the cross hairs of the FBI. Sadly Sam was killed (by the FBI) in a tragic accident in a hotel in Los Angelos Ca. He died at the age of 33. One of his most important works, A Change is Gonna Come, was recorded but not released until after his death in 1964. You can also find out more about the good brother Sam Cooke on Netflix in “The Two Killings of Sam Cooke.”
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