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Overview
In late 1957, when "You Send Me" burst upon the pop scene and shot to number one, it was seen as a phenomenal debut by a young unknown. But in African-American communities across the nation, Sam Cooke was already one of gospel music's most charismatic stars - and his crossover into rock 'n' roll heralded the beginning of a new era. The remarkable string of hits that followed - "Only Sixteen," "Chain Gang," "Cupid," "Twistin' the Night Away," "Bring It on Home to Me," "Havin' a Party," "Shake" - earned Cooke the title of The Man Who Invented Soul Music. At the same time, Cooke became one of the music business's first African-American entrepreneurs, fighting for the publishing rights to his songs and founding his own record label. Enmeshed in the beginnings of the civil rights movement, he crisscrossed the country insisting that rock 'n' roll be fully integrated. And he encouraged younger singers like Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson to follow his crossover example. Despite a near-fatal car accident and the tragic death of his infant son, Sam Cooke managed to forge a career that artists such as Rod Stewart, Keith Richards, and Aaron Neville still revere. Indeed, Sam Cooke was one of the first names inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Just as Cooke achieved a new level of success with sold-out appearances at New York's Copacabana, his life came to a sudden end: He was discovered half-naked in a seedy, south Los Angeles motel with a bullet through his heart. His was a murder that is still viewed by many as inexplicable - and unsolved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
An important contribution to the history of pop music in mid-century, this work by freelance journalist Wolff in collaboration with singer Craine, guitarist and bandleader White and music researcher Tenenbaum follows the career of Sam Cooke (born Cook) from boy singer in his father's church choir to his murder in a cheap L.A. motel in 1964. Born in 1931 in the Mississippi Delta region, he and his family migrated to Chicago in the Depression. While still a teenager, he was picked to sing in a prestigious gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1951. Later, he crossed over into secular music, where he had a string of hits, including the blockbuster ``You Send Me.'' Handsome and well bred, he was irresistible to many women, married twice and fathered a number of children out of wedlock. The official version that he was shot by a woman during a fight raised many questions, but the LAPD, according to the authors, viewed Cooke as ``just another dead nigger.'' Here we are offered more speculation about his sad end.Library Journal
When Sam Cooke left the Soul Stirrers in 1957 to cross over into popular music, the gospel scene lost one of its biggest stars. The rest of the world gained the distinctive voice of the first practitioner of the musical style that became known as soul. More than a singer, Cooke composed songs that are still being performed more than 30 years later. He had the business acumen to protect his publishing rights in an era when artists were routinely fleeced. He was also one of the first performers to take a leadership role in the burgeoning Civil Rights movement. Unfortunately, his unsavory shooting death at 33 cast a shadow over a great African American success story. Written with the help of the Soul Stirrers' founder and Cooke's bandleader, this should stand as the definitive biography of one of popular American music's most important stars. Highly recommended.-Dan Bogey, Clearfield Cty. P.L. Federation, Curwensville, Pa.Sam Cooke epitomized the "crossover" artist. Not only did he cross over from gospel music--he was lead singer of the famous Soul Stirrers while in his teens--to the secular world with his 1957 hit, You Send Me, but he crossed over from the rhythm-and-blues to the pop charts, achieving huge success with white audiences--not just teenagers but adults crowds at the Copacabana and other supper clubs. Wolff effectively sets the story of Cooke's career against the backdrop of the burgeoning civil rights movement, demonstrating how the singer became a powerful and prominent role model, both through his public activism and by going beyond racial pride to actual empowerment when he started his own record label. Unfortunately, Wolff begins the book with an account of Cooke's death by gunshot in a sleazy L.A. hotel at age 33. Although Cooke was no moral paragon (he was, for instance, consistently, notoriously unfaithful to his wives), that initial attention grabber overemphasizes the importance of an event that contradicts the legacy of his music and his career.
Book Details
Published
June 6, 1995
Publisher
New York : W. Morrow, c1995.
Pages
352
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780688124038