Sam Cooke Born: The Voice That Invented Soul
He moved from gospel to pop and the gospel world treated it as apostasy. Sam Cooke had been the lead singer of the Soul Stirrers — the most celebrated gospel group in America — when he crossed over in 1957 with "You Send Me." It went to number one. "A Change Is Gonna Come" was written after he was turned away from a segregated hotel in Louisiana. He was shot and killed in Los Angeles on December 11, 1964 — the circumstances disputed, the shooter never charged. He was 33.
January 22, 1931
95 years ago
What Else Happened on January 22
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