Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur.
Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and importance within popular music. He began singing as a child and joined The Soul Stirrers before moving to a solo career where he scored a string of hit songs like “You Send Me”, “Wonderful World”, “Chain Gang”, and “Twistin’ the Night Away”.
His pioneering contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, and popularized the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown. AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was “the inventor of soul music”, and possessed “an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed”.
On December 11, 1964, at the age of 33, Cooke was shot and killed by Bertha Franklin, the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California. After an inquest, the courts ruled Cooke’s death to be a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been called into question by Cooke’s family.
The first funeral service for Cooke was held on December 18, 1964, at A. R. Leak Funeral Home in Chicago; 200,000 fans lined up for more than four city blocks to view his body. Afterward, his body was flown back to Los Angeles for a second service, at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on December 19, which included a much-heralded performance of “The Angels Keep Watching Over Me” by Ray Charles, who stood in for grief-stricken Bessie Griffin. Cooke was interred in the Garden of Honor, Lot 5728, Space 1, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. – Wikipedia
We will say goodbye to 2017 on “Great Soul Performances” & “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” this evening, with four hours of holiday music, signifying the end of the old year, and since it’s still Christmas week, some left over Christmas songs as well. On G.S.P. 1, we’ll have: The Manhattans, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Bobby Darin, the Soul Clan, Brook Benton, the Jackson Five, Otis Redding & Carla Thomas, Enchantment, Sonny Til & the Orioles, Kool & the Gang, Sam Cooke, my dear friend and former co-worker at WCBS-FM 101.1; our “Morning Mayor,” Harry Harrison, and so many, many others. It’ll begin at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. Then immediately following on G.S.P. 2, you’ll hear from: Charles Brown, the Whispers, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Jimmy Beaumont & the Skyliners, the Eagles, the O’Jays, Huey Lewis & the News, Marvin Sease, New Edition, Harry Connick, Jr., and a whole lot more. G.S.P. 2 starts at 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT and 6PM PT. Let’s ring out the old, and ring in the new with “Great Soul Performances,” and “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” this evening on RadioMaxMusic.Com.
Last week I realized that I usually acknowledge summer with a show dedicated to summer songs, but I forgot. Therefore this evening on “Great Soul Performances” it’s gonna me “Summer Songs” with a sprinkling of songs about Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, as our USA Olympic team continues to dominate. We’ve got artists like: Sly & the Family Stone, Sam Cooke, the Chantels; with and without Richard Barrett, Donald Byrd & the Blackbyrds, Little Anthony & the Imperials, the Jamies, Nat “King” Cole, Larry Chance & the Earls, Barry White, the Two Step Orchestra, Jimmy Ricks & the Ravens, George Benson; live in concert, and a medley I put together of “The Girl From Ipanema” featuring: Astrud Gilberto & Stan Getz, Frank Sinatra, Amy Winehouse, Lou Rawls, my cousin Gloria Nazzaro, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dionne Warwick, Nat “King” Cole, Diana Krall, and Andy Williams. I think you are going to like this show. Join me at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT. Let’s go for the “Gold” this evening with “Summer Songs” on “Great Soul Performances,” at the “Home Of The Hits,” RadioMaxMusic.Com.
“Great Soul Performances” comes your way this evening with a “bowl full of soul” featuring: Jackie Wilson and Count Basie, Marvin Gaye, the O’Jays, Betty Wright, the Buddy Miles Express, Ruth Brown, the Artistics, the Four Tops, Sam Cooke, Freddie Scott, the late Billy Paul; “live in concert,” from London, England, plus a whole lot more. It starts at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT & 4PM PT. To hear it again, go to: 
