Sam Cooke

Genres:	Christian & Gospel • Easy Listening • Pop / Rock • R&B / Soul • Vocals
Descriptive "tags":	soul • rhythm and blues • oldies • gospel • rnb
Decades Active:	1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Links online:	BBC Music • Discography • IMDb • MusicMoz • MySpace • Wikipedia

Biography

Sam Cook, 22 January 1931, Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA, d. 11 December 1964, Los Angeles, California, USA. Reverend Charles Cook and his wife Annie May relocated his family to Chicago during the 30s. The devout young Sam Cook first performed publicly with his brother and two sisters in their Baptist quartet, the Soul Children. As a teenager he joined the Highway QCs, before replacing Rebert ‘R.H.’ Harris in the Soul Stirrers. Between 1951 and 1956 Cook (now with an ‘e’) sang lead with this innovative gospel group after being coached by another member, R.B. Robinson. Cooke’s distinctive florid vocal style was soon obvious on ‘Touch The Hem Of His Garment’ and ‘Nearer To Thee’. The Soul Stirrers recorded for the Specialty Records label, where the singer’s popularity encouraged producer Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell to provide Cooke with pop material. ‘Loveable’/‘Forever’ was issued as a...

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