Sam Cooke (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), better known as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Cooke is known as the “King of Soul” for his distinctive vocals, pioneering contributions to the genre, and relevance in popular music. He is widely regarded as one of the most important soul performers of all time.
Cooke has 29 tracks that scored in the Top 40 of the Billboard Pop Tracks Chart and 20 singles that charted in the Top Ten of the Billboard Black Singles list throughout his eight-year career.
What are some of the legacies of Sam Cooke?
Sam Cooke‘s contributions to soul music aided the growth of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, as well as popularising Otis Redding and James Brown’s work. Cooke was dubbed “the inventor of soul music” by AllMusic writer Bruce Eder, who described him as having “an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed.”
Meanwhile, Sam Cooke was born Samuel Cook in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931 (he added the “e” to his surname in 1957 to represent a fresh beginning in his life). He was the sixth of eight children born to Rev. Charles Cook, a Church of Christ (Holiness) Baptist minister, and the former Annie Mae Carroll. L.C. (1932-2017), one of his younger brothers, later joined the doo-wop group Johnny Keyes and the Magnificent. Cooke grew up as a Baptist.
In 1933, Cooke’s family relocated to Chicago. He went to Doolittle Elementary and Wendell Phillips Academy High School, both of which Nat “King” Cole had attended a few years before. Cooke began his career alongside his siblings in a group named the Singing Children when he was six years old, after singing in his father’s church choir.
He rose to prominence as the Highway Q.C.’s lead singer as a youngster, having joined the group at the age of 14. Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighbor Lou Rawls, who sang in a competing gospel group, during this time.
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
Categories: News
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
