Mini Biography
Sam Cooke was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 22, 1931. He was one of eight children of Charles Cook Sr., who was a Baptist minister. When Sam sang as a little boy in church, everyone made note that his voice had "something special". He sang in Church and in local gospel choirs until a group called the Highway Q.C.'s asked him to sing with them at various venues. By the time Cooke reached 20, his voice was a finely honed instrument and he was noted for bringing the spirit up in church-goers.
When Sam replaced R.H. Harris, the legendary lead singer for the extremely popular gospel group called The Soul Stirrers, it was the beginning of Sam's meteoric rise. Cooke sang with the group for six years, traveling back and forth across the country and gained a wealth of knowledge regarding how black people were treated. His refusal to sing at a segregated concert led to what many have described as one of the first real efforts in civil disobedience and helped usher in the new Civil Rights Movement.
After several Gospel Albums, Sam decided it was time to crossover from gospel (And against almost everyone's wishes.) to record some soul and rhythm & blues. Because of his good looks and intonation he was an instant success. His first single released in 1957 was "You Send Me" and sold over a million copies, which made Sam an "overnight success" in the business. He was on his way to becoming the biggest voice on the radio. Record producers vied to sign him to a contract. In 1960, Cooke became the first major black artist to sign with RCA Records. Sam was not happy with the deal and when the time was right, decided to start his own publishing company (KAGS Music) to keep control over his music and his own record company (SAR/Derby) to keep control of his money.
Sam married his high school sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, in 1959 and had they had three children. Tragically, Vincent their youngest, drowned in their swimming pool at age four in June 1964.
On the night of December 11, 1964, Cooke was set up to be robbed of Christmas money he'd withdrawn earlier in the day for gifts. After the robbery, he was murdered by Motel Manager - Bertha Franklin, who'd shot and killed a man six months earlier at the same motel. That night, Sam picked up Elisa Boyer, a call-girl (known for "rolling drunks" and escaping with whatever she could when they were passed out, or knocked out.) in a bar at a restaurant. They went to a seedy motel in Watts and registered as Mr. and Mrs. Sam Cooke. After going into the room, Cooke was clubbed in the head and knocked out momentarily. Boyer grabbed his clothes and ran to the motel office to split the money with Bertha Franklin.
When Cooke came to he was disoriented, pant-less and wallet-less. He stumbled to the motel office and saw Boyer and Franklin counting his money ($2,500. in 1960 dollars was a LOT) through the window. He demanded his pants, money and wallet back. When they didn't open the door, Cooke knocked on it as hard as he could and it came off the hinges. When he got up off the floor, Mrs. Franklin shot him then instructed Boyer to run down the street and call police from a phone booth. Boyer told them a phony story about a rape and left the scene and subsequently disappeared. Sam was dead when the police arrived and since Boyer had stolen his wallet they had no idea who it was and took it as a routine justified homicide in the ghetto.
The coroner's inquest was a slam dunk ... not one pertinent question asked by an investigator, or back round check of Bertha Franklin's shooting past. They simply took her made up story for what actually happened. Sam's murder was just chalked up to just another unidentified "rapist" killed in Watts. Until the next Monday morning when a reporter found out Sam Cooke was signed in to the motel registry as himself and that one of the world's greatest talents and a true human being was dead, under shady circumstances that might never be covered by the media, since it's been 45 years.
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