{"title":"Sam Cooke","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout Sam Cooke\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSamuel Cook was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi on January 22, 1931 and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He launched his recording career as the lead vocalist of the foundational gospel group the Soul Stirrers (1950-1957). His 1957 crossover from gospel to secular pop music (releasing You Send Me under his stage name Sam Cooke) established the foundational template for contemporary soul music. He launched his own SAR Records label in 1959 (launching the careers of Bobby Womack, Johnnie Taylor, and others) and established his own business infrastructure (Tracey Limited management and publishing company), unprecedented for Black artists of his era. His 1964 composition A Change Is Gonna Come (inspired by Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind and his own Holiday Inn racial discrimination incident) became one of the most important civil rights anthems in popular music history. He was shot and killed at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles on December 11, 1964 at age 33 by motel manager Bertha Franklin. The case was officially ruled justifiable homicide, but the official narrative has remained controversial. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His foundational influence on soul music, R\u0026amp;B, and broader popular music history is widely cited as one of the most important contributions to the form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSound and style\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSam Cooke's sound is foundational to soul music as a recognized genre - combining soul, R\u0026amp;B, pop, gospel, and rock and roll with his distinctive vocal delivery (use of melismatic phrasing and gospel-influenced approach), and arrangements drawing on classic gospel and R\u0026amp;B traditions alongside contemporary pop influences. His foundational influence on soul music is widely documented.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eDiscography highlights\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSam Cooke (1958, Keen)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEncore (1958, Keen)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTribute to the Lady (1959, Keen)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCooke's Tour (1960, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHits of the 50s (1960, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSwing Low (1961, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy Kind of Blues (1961, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTwistin' the Night Away (1962, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMr. Soul (1963, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNight Beat (1963, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAin't That Good News (1964, RCA Victor)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSam Cooke at the Copa (1964, RCA Victor) - live\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShake (1965, RCA Victor) - posthumous, A Change Is Gonna Come\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLive at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1985, RCA) - posthumous archival\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFor collectors\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eOriginal Specialty Records (his Soul Stirrers gospel era), Keen Records, and RCA Victor pressings of the Sam Cooke catalog are foundational items in soul music collecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhere to start\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eListeners new to Sam Cooke typically start with Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (1985 release) or Night Beat (1963). \u003cspan class=\"related-collections\"\u003eExplore more: \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/rnb-soul-vinyl-records\"\u003eR\u0026amp;B And Soul\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"sam-cooke-best-of-vinyl-140g","title":"Best of... LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis Best of Sam Cooke collection represents the singer's highest charting pop crossover singles and includes most of his best-known hits.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48540791898295,"sku":"210000032024","price":23.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/cooke-sam-best-of-lp.jpg?v=1781154283"},{"product_id":"sam-cooke-night-beat-vinyl-180g","title":"Night Beat LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eNight Beat is the tenth studio album by Sam Cooke, characterized by its moody, downbeat atmosphere with Cooke's vocals in center stage.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48541044539575,"sku":"210000057518","price":42.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/cooke-night-beat.jpg?v=1781155197"},{"product_id":"sam-cooke-live-at-the-harlem-square-club-vinyl-180g-import","title":"Live at the Harlem Square Club LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the greatest live recordings ever. Sam Cooke at his absolute best.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48541049323703,"sku":"210000055035","price":43.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/sam-cook.jpg?v=1781155218"},{"product_id":"sam-cooke-mr-soul-vinyl-180g","title":"Mr. Soul LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Cooke, inventor and true King of Soul, recorded Mr. Soul in the same year as Night Beat, and seems to be its more adult counterpart, with soulful ballads taking up most of the album.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48541049356471,"sku":"210000056506","price":43.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/cooke.jpg?v=1781155219"},{"product_id":"sam-cooke-portrait-of-a-legend-51-64-vinyl-180g","title":"Portrait of a Legend '51-'64 2LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eSam Cooke's amazing body of work is encapsulated in SAM COOK: PORTRAIT OF a LEGEND 1957-64, the ultimate Sam Cooke greatest hits package.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48785833590967,"sku":"210000061717","price":44.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/cooke_cc7e0b4d-1ec4-4e7c-84c8-0521bec79cfb.jpg?v=1783046052"},{"product_id":"sam-cooke-aint-that-good-news-vinyl-180g-remastered","title":"Ain't that Good News LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe last of his studio albums released in his lifetime, Sam Cooke's Ain't That Good News offers a lot of superb material, pointing in several directions that, alas, were to go largely unexplored.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wax Trax Records","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48908069568695,"sku":"210000055129","price":29.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0745\/5755\/4871\/files\/cooke2.jpg?v=1784635088"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.waxtraxrecords.com\/collections\/sam-cooke.oembed","provider":"Wax Trax Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}