A change is gonna come?

Had he lived, the pioneer of Soul music and Civil Rights supporter (and downright sexy man!) Sam Cooke would have been 80 years old today.

Possessed of a most beautiful vocal style and good looks, Mr Cooke moved from gospel to soulful popular song at an early age, and caught the mood of 60s America perfectly. Songs such as Chain Gang, You Send Me, Cupid, Keep Movin' On, Only Sixteen, Twistin' The Night Away and of course Wonderful World ensured he was rocketed to stardom.

His pop success gave him a significant opportunity to highlight the struggle for racial equality, and indeed his classic A Change Is Gonna Come became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement. Though Cooke didn't live to see its success it would come to be heralded as his magnum opus. The song was covered myriad times over the forthcoming years by such towering artists as Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Miss Franklin indeed referred to him as "one of the greatest male singers of all time."

Notoriously, despite his sweet and "squeaky-clean" Soul-boy image, Sam Cooke was a bit of a wild child underneath. His partying and womanising were kept well away from the public eye, until one fateful night. According to The History of Rock site:

With a live LP in the Top 30, Cooke was in L.A. partying when he met 22 year old Elisa Boyer at a club on December 11, 1964. They drove to South Central where they registered at the Hacienda Motel as Mr.and Mrs. Sam Cooke. Later Boyer left the room with most of Cooke's clothing. Cooke wearing one shoe and a jacket broke into the motel's office where he thought Boyer was hiding. There he found Bertha Franklin the motel's manager who shot him three times with a .22, killing Cooke. Bertha Franklin claimed Cooke had tried to rape Elisa Boyer and then turned on her. The coroner's office ruled the death as justifiable homicide. Over 45 years later there remain questions about the circumstances of Cooke's death and there has been talk about reopening the investigation.

Aged only 33, his was a great loss to music. Had he lived he most certainly would have been a rival to the success of the aforementioned Mr Redding, Marvin Gaye, and even Nat King Cole. But his music lives on! RIP one of the greats...

Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come

In a wry observation of the way music has evolved over the years one commenter on YouTube said, "You went from Sam Cooke to 50 Cent. What has happened to you America?" Indeed, where has the Soul gone?

Sam Cooke - You Send Me

Sam Cooke biography at the History of Rock site