Sam Cooke: 50 years and change still comin'

Hard to believe we lost singer, songwriter, record company mogul and civil rights activist Sam Cooke (1931-1964) fifty years ago this year. I became an instant Sam Cooke fan in 1957 when he released his first pop monster hit 'You Send Me'. Still can't hear one of his dozens of great songs without lamenting his tragic early shooting death in a seedy LA motel. The feature 'A Change Is Gonna Come' released posthumously, has become a civil rights anthem appropriate on the eve of the MLK holiday. It should remind us there is much work still ahead not only to expand human freedom to all, but to push back the regressive forces working as hard as us to prevent change or roll back the magnificent gains of the last 50 years. Cooke missed most of that progress but he inspires us from the grave with music, not marches.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaNzxniXxYE