SAM COOKE

< Class of 1986

YEAR

1986

INDUCTED BY

Herb Alpert

Performers

Sam Cooke sang from the soul.

He was the definitive soul man. Cooke was seductive, devoted, elegant and moving. These qualities combined with his dazzling, pure voice made him irresistible to audiences regardless of race or religion.

Sam Cooke

Herb Alpert Inducts Sam Cooke

Barbara Cooke and Rev. Charles Cook Acceptance Speech

"He's So Wonderful"

"A Change Is Gonna Come"

HALL OF FAME
ESSAY

By Michael Hill

In 1956, Sam Cooke released his first pop song, “Lovable,” under the name Dale Cooke so as not to alienate the gospel following he’d amassed in his five years as lead vocalist for the Soul Stirrers.

One of eight sons of a Baptist minister, Cooke saw the division between the secular and the sanctified; so did Art Rupe of the Specialty label, who dropped Cooke when his pop aspirations became clear. Cooke’s father, on the other hand, gave Sam his blessing.

A year later, Cooke recorded “You Send Me,” a song he’d written himself, for the Keen label. It sold 1.7 million copies and reached Number One on both the pop and R&B charts.