“Well, that’s very kind of you, but voices ought not to be measured by how pretty they are. Instead, they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.”
Sam Cooke
Introduction
Black music is rich, vibrant and pure joy. However, until the innovative work of artists like Jay-Z and Stormzy, a multitude of black have been ripped off by the major record labels, cashing in on their success, signing lucrative deals that leave this iconic trailblazer with little to nothing in monetary return, some left bankrupt in a racist scandal that has often be spoken of but fallen on deaf ears from those who profit from pure talent. Yet someone brave enough to stick his head above the parapet and challenge the music establishment was Sam Cooke. A singer who many say wrote the blueprint of black music business sense, churning out multiple hits and setting up a business to secure his right to his entitled wealth. A model that Motown and future black music models were inspired by.
The Voice of Reason
Born in 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Samuel Cook was the son of a Baptist minister and his wife. The fifth of eight children of Reverend Charles Cook and Annie Mae Carroll, the family moved to Chicago in 1933. Sam attended Doolittle Elementary and Wendell Phillips Academy High School, the same school that Nat Cole had participated in. Cooke performed in the school choir and later joined a group called the Singing Children when he was six. He became the lead singer with the Highway QC’s after joining the group when he was 14. He would become the lead singer in the gospel group The Soul Stirrers and secured them a record deal with Speciality Records. They released songs like “Jesus Gave Me Water”, “Peace in the Valley”, “How Far Am I from Canaan?”, “Jesus Paid the Debt” and “One More River”.
With these music ventures, Cooke is credited for helping bring gospel music to the attention of a younger audience. A style of music that would cause frenzied female fans to rush to the stage when the Soul Stirrers performed. This is an early example of iconic worship by fans who loved hearing this silky-smooth and unique voice. Cooke was a music architect who crossed the music boundary from soul to mainstream pop music. It would be an eight-year career that would produce 30 top-40 hits between 1957 and 1964, including hits like “You Send Me”, “A Change is Gonna Come”, “Cupid”, “Chain Gang”, “Another Saturday Night”, and “Twistin’ the Night Away”. Music that drew the attention of Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali.
The Business Model
As a music artist and songwriter, Sam Cooke was a true inspiration. He was one of the first black singers to create a record label and a publishing company as part of his music package. A man who also crossed over into the world of politics by becoming an active campaigner in the civil rights movement. Forming his record label, SAR Records, in 1961 and a management company called Kags. In a groundbreaking deal with RCA Victor, he secured a deal where he received most of the royalties, with the label getting six percent. Under the holding company Tracey Ltd, Cooke would receive preferred stock in Tracey instead of an initial cash advance of $100,000 for tax reasons. He would receive cash advances of $100,000 for the next two years and an additional $75,000 for each of the two option years if the deal went to term.
Legacy and Untimely Death
Sam Cooke will be remembered for his unique voice, Vick rage and business innovation. He challenged the establishment of white music moguls who bought into an era of segregating whites and blacks in every form of life, punished for the colour of their skin and cruelly treated in an inhumane and disgusting manner that still haunts society to this very day. Yet San became a victim of this black music revolution. On December 11th 1964, while staying at the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, Cooke was shot and killed by the motel manager, Bertha Franklin. He was 33 years old. A bullet that went through his chest and fatally pierced the singer’s heart. Franklin claimed she shot Sam in self-defence after he forced his way into her office. She said he was naked at the time, apart from wearing one shoe and a sports jacket. She also claimed that the two wrestled on the floor before fearing for her life; Bertha ran to get a gun. She then shot him in the chest and hit him on the head with a broom handle when he attempted to make a second advance towards her. His last words were, “Lady, you shot me.” The argument ensued after it was claimed that Cooke had befriended Elisa Boyer in a nightclub, taking her back to the motel and attempting to have forced sex with her in one of the rooms before she managed to escape via the bathroom window. A claim that is still disputed to this day, with many believing that this was an arranged murder by the music industry.
