Music Minute!

Sam Cooke

Did you know that there were several conflicting accounts regarding the mysterious shooting of Soul music legend Sam Cooke?

The circumstances regarding Cooke’s death on December 11th 1964 at the age of 33 years have been disputed for many years. Ruled a justifiable homicide by law officials, Cooke was shot in the torso by a motel manager after reportedly attacking her because she wouldn’t inform him of the whereabouts of a woman that he allegedly kidnapped.

However, Cooke’s family openly denied that the claims of the motel manager were true and suggested that the details of the incident were fabricated. In fact, fellow singer Etta James reportedly spoke out about her peer’s killing and claimed that his body was brutally ravaged beyond what was stated in legal accounts.

Regardless of the circumstances surrounding his death, Cooke is remembered has one of the most important figures in American music, especially as a Soul artist. His unique sound influenced several other performers, including Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and R. Kelly.

Listen to one of Cooke’s most popular hits, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, below:

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Now you know!