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Sam Cooke
Sign in to saveAlso known as Samuel Cook, Dale Cook
American singer and songwriter (1931–1964)
Sam Cooke was an American singer and songwriter who lived from 1931 to 1964 and became one of the most influential musicians of his era. He is remembered as a pioneering figure who blended soul, gospel, and pop music, creating some of the most memorable songs of the mid-20th century.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Samuel
- Family name
- Cook
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Chicago
- Place of death
- Los Angeles
- Child
- Linda Womack
- Occupation
- recording artist
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- gospel music
- Instrument
- voice
- Record label
- Specialty
- Official website
- www.samcooke.com
- Image
- Sam Cooke 2.jpg
- Voice type
- tenor
Show 14 more facts
- topic's main category
- Category:Sam Cooke
- place of burial
- Forest Lawn Memorial Park
- date of birth
- 1931-01-22
- date of death
- 1964-12-11
- Commons category
- Sam Cooke
- influenced by
- James Baldwin
- manner of death
- homicide
- cause of death
- gunshot wound
- birth name
- Samuel Cooke
- pseudonym
- Sam Cooke
- start of work period
- 1950-00-00
- copyright representative
- Broadcast Music, Inc.
- ethnic group
- African Americans
- name in native language
- Sam Cooke
via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
Samuel Cooke (né Cook; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American soul singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distinctive vocals, pioneering contributions to the genre, and significance in popular music. During his thirteen-year career, Cooke released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as 20 singles in the Top 10 of Billboard's Black Singles chart. In 1964, he was shot and killed by the manager of a motel in Los Angeles. After an inquest and investigation, the courts ruled Cooke's death to be a justifiable homicide. His family has since questioned the circumstances of his death. In 2015, Cooke was ranked number 28 in Billboard magazine's list of the "35 Greatest R&B Artists of All Time".
Early life
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sam Cooke” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.