Haylie Montano

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

A Change is Gonna Come1

Sam Cooke, one of soul music’s pioneers and a man heralded as the “King of Soul”

(Starr and Waterman 124), paved the way for African American civil rights through his soulful

music and powerful presentation. Samuel Cook was born to Baptist minister Reverend Charles

Cook Sr. and Annie May Cook on January 22, 1931, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Two years later,

Cooke, his parents, and his seven siblings moved to Chicago, Illinois. In high school, Cooke was

an A student, and voted “most likely to succeed”. As a young child, Cooke and four of his

siblings sang together as a gospel group called, “The Singing Children” and at just 15 years of

age, Sam became the lead vocalist of a famous gospel group called the “Highway QC’s”. Just

four years later at age 19, Cooke was chosen by the manager of the “Soul Stirrers” - who were

also well known and continued to succeed in the music industry with Sam well into his career.

The group made many popular gospel hits including “Touch the Hem of His Garment” and

“Swing Low Sweet Chariot”.

1
“A Change is Gonna Come” was one of Cooke’s biggest hits. The song targets the then-current subject
of segregation in a powerful and moving way. Lines like, “Somebody keeps telling me don’t hang around
[when he is at the movies]”, and “I say, brother, help me please, but he winds up knocking me back down
on my knees” are lines that show the harsh reality of segregation and the pain it caused Cooke
personally.
Haylie Montano

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

At his height in gospel fame, Cooke moved from gospel music to popular music under

the pseudonym “Dale Cooke” - which eventually failed in hiding his identity from the gospel

community. Sam was described as, “Combining two influences into a whole” (ABKO 2019).

“Sam didn’t ‘cross over’ he ‘combined’” (ABKO 2019). Despite his never being fully

re-accepted into the gospel community after the transition to pop, Cooke made a name for

himself. He was named the “King of Soul”, he became the first black artist to establish his own

record company (SAR), and led one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience by his refusal to

sing in segregated concerts. Cooke looked at soul not only as music, but as an extension of

himself. He poured himself into his music and spread his message to those who heard his music.

Record and film artist Lou Adler is quoted saying, “He carried a blue spiral notebook with him

everywhere he went, filling it up with his lyrics. Sometimes even jotting down words while he

was talking to you. One time he showed Herb Alpert a song he was working on, and he asked me

what I thought of the lyric, and it really seemed trite to me. (So) I asked him what does the song

go like, and he pulled out his guitar and started playing. And all of a sudden this thing that

looked so corny on paper just turned into this magical event. ‘Cause he had a way of phrasing, a

way of presenting his feelings that were uniquely his. He had a very clear way of expressing

himself.”(Guralnick 2015)
Haylie Montano

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

Cooke’s music style was heavilly influenced by his gospel roots, but he had a way of

taking the gospel style and putting it to secular words, laying the foundation for soul music in the

ears to come. Cooke was the epitome of smooth and classy. His pure, clear vocals were widely

imitated, and his suave, sophisticated image set the style of soul crooners for the next decade.

Sam Cooke, ​along with Ray Charles, was one of the most influential black vocalists of the

post-World War II period. “If Charles represented raw soul, Cooke symbolized sweet soul.”

(Ritz 2019). Throughout his tragically short career, Cooke worked hard to combat racism and

political boundaries through his music. Majority of his music was written singlehandedly and

focused on his personal experiences as an African American man in a segregated world. Being a

black man in the racist society of his time exposed him to every low and caused his climb

through the ranks to be even more difficult. In the late 50’s, a black person switching from

gospel to pop music was unheard of and regarded as “taboo” a black man rising through the

ranks and becoming a star was even more unheard of. Cooke didn’t care, he had broken the mold

of society and what was considered proper or “normal” for a person of color to do. Through his

powerful presentation, catchy tunes, and clear messages, Sam Cooke was able to reach people in

a way that was simple and non-invasive. He took something that everyone loves and turned it

into a platform from which to speak his thoughts and experiences. Not only did Cooke speak to

gospel audiences in his early days, but he also reached out to secular people, people who may not

be from a religious background, but could understand and relate to the issues of life that came
Haylie Montano

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

with being a person of color. Because of his strong influence in both ends of the spectrum,

Cooke was heralded as the “Kind of Soul”, raised him to icon status in the eyes of many

celebrated disciples including Smokey Robinson, James Taylor, and Michael Jackson among

them. ​Cooke’s biggest hit, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, reached the top of the charts in the

mid-fifties targets the subject of segregation in a powerful and moving way. With strong words

and vocals to support lines like, “Somebody keeps telling me don’t hang around [when he is at

the movies]”, and “I say, brother, help me please, but he winds up knocking me back down on

my knees” are key points that show the harsh reality of segregation and the pain it caused Cooke

personally. The song whent on to be adopted as the 1960’s civil rights movement anthem in the

years following Cooke’s death.

All too soon, the star’s life was brought to an abrupt halt under suspicious circumstances.

December 11th, 1964 - just a few months after his most famous work was released, Cooke was

shot and killed by Bertha Franklin - a motel manager - at the young age of 33 years old.

Thousands of people turned up to mourn the loss of one of the greatest soul singers in history.

While the circumstances surrounding his death are uncertain and there are many loose ends -

only one thing is for sure - America will never forget Sam Cooke, the gospel singer turned pop,

the King of Soul, the man who fought hard to make a name for himself, to share his feelings, and

to gain true freedom. ​“A Change Is Gonna Come” (1964) still remains his signature song, an
Haylie Montano

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

anthem of hope for the hopeless, faith for the faithless, a song that expresses his true feelings,

artful poetry, and sweetness of his soul. Cooke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of

Fame in 1986 and was a 1999 recipient of the Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. “After

his death, his legend became even larger. His influence can be heard in the precise phrasing of

Smokey Robinson, in the conscientious songwriting of Marvin Gaye, in the raw emotion of Lou

Rawls and in Aretha Franklin's controlled passion.” (History of Rock). While we will never

know how much more Sam Cooke would have done for the music industry, we do know that he

changed it drastically, bringing in a fresh sound and leaving behind a legacy.

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

Bibliography

“Chapter 10 - ‘Blowin' in the Wind’: Country, Soul, Urban Folk, and Rise of Rock.” ​American

Popular Music: from Minstrelsy to MP3​, by Larry Starr and Christopher Alan Waterman, Oxford

University Press, 2018.

Ritz, David. “Sam Cooke.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,

www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-Cooke

“Sam Cooke Sang From the Soul.” ​Sam Cooke,​ www.history-of-rock.com/cooke.htm

“Sam Cooke.” ​ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.​, 2019, www.abkco.com/artist/sam-cooke/

“Sam Cooke.” ​Biography.com​, A&E Networks Television, 16 July 2019,

Prof. Baldwin

Music 103-0

24 September 2019

www.biography.com/musician/sam-cooke

“Sam Cooke.” ​Rock & Roll Hall of Fame​, www.rockhall.com/inductees/sam-cooke

Guralnick, Peter. ​Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke.​ Abacus, 2015.