Sam Cooke was a singer/songwriter whose resonating voice pioneered soul music. Cooke was one of the first black musicians to oversee the business side of his career, creating not only a record label but also his own publishing company. Born in Clarksdale, Michigan as Samuel Cook, he began singing with his seven siblings in a gospel group called The Singing Children. Cooke made the cross to pop music with his 1956 single "Lovable," and within a year he would appear on ABC's The Guy Mitchell Show and sign with Keen Records. His first release with the label was "You Send Me," which spent six weeks and three weeks on the Billboard R&B and Pop charts respectively, at the number one spot. Along with J.W. Alexander and his manager Roy Crain, Cooke started SAR Records in 1961, and started his own publishing and management company shortly after. Cooke's 1964 single "A Change is Gonna Come," is arguably the most exemplary song of the Civil Rights Movement. Unlike his previous material, which was easy to digest for his mostly white audience, the song addressed discrimination and racism in America, and although it was a modest hit when it was first released, the song gained widespread popularity and critical acclaim in the decades that followed. The song was not released until after his death in 1964, when he was shot in a Los Angeles hotel. Despite controversies surrounding his death, Cooke's legacy remains centered on his music and distinctive voice that influenced and paved the way for several other artists.
