On December 11, 1964, Cooke was allegedly shot to death by the manager of the Hacienda Motel in Los Angeles, California at the age of 33. At the time, the courts ruled that Cooke was drunk and distressed, and the manager killed Cooke in what was later ruled a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been widely questioned.
Sam Cooke (he added an "e" onto the end of his name because he thought it added a touch of class) was one of eight children of Rev. Charles and Mrs. Annie Mae Cook. The family moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1933.
Cooke began his musical career as a member of a quartet with his siblings, the Singing Children, followed by a turn as a teenager as a member of the Highway QCs, a gospel group. In 1950, at the age of 19, he joined The Soul Stirrers and achieved significant success and fame within the gospel community.
His first pop single, "Lovable" (1956) was released under the alias of "Dale Cooke," in order to not alienate his fan base; there was a considerable taboo against gospel singers performing secular music. However, the alias failed to hide Cooke's unique and distinctive vocals. No one was fooled. Art Rupe, head of Specialty Records, the label of the Soul Stirrers, gave his blessing for Cooke to record secular music under his real name, but was unhappy about the type of music Cooke and Bumps Blackwell, Cooke's pop producer, were making. Rupe expected Cooke's secular music to be similar to that of another Specialty Records artist, Little Richard. When Rupe walked in on a recording session and heard Cooke covering Gershwin, he was quite upset. After an argument between Rupe and Blackwell, Cooke and Blackwell left the label, and Cooke signed with Keen Records in 1957. His first release was "You Send Me", which spent six weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart but which also had massive mainstream success, spending three weeks at #1 on the Billboard pop chart.
As if a R&B performer writing his own songs and achieving mainstream fame was not innovative enough, Cooke continued to astonish the music business in the 1960s with the founding of his own label, SAR Records, which soon included The Simms Twins, The Valentinos, Bobby Womack, and Johnnie Taylor. Cooke then created a publishing imprint and management firm, then left Keen to sign with RCA. One of his first RCA singles was the hit "Chain Gang." It reached #2 on the Billboard pop chart. This was followed by more hits, including "Sad Mood", "Bring it on Home to Me" (with Lou Rawls on backing vocals), "Another Saturday Night" and "Twistin' the Night Away".
Like most R&B artists of his time, Cooke focused on singles; in all he had 29 top 40 hits on the pop charts, and more on the R&B charts. In spite of this, he released a critically acclaimed blues-inflected LP in 1963, Night Beat. He was known for having written many of the most popular songs of all time in the genre, and is often uncredited for many of them by the general public.
Cooke died at the age of 33 under mysterious circumstances on December 11, 1964 in Los Angeles, California. Though the details of the case are still in dispute (see below), it seems he was shot to death by Bertha Franklin, manager of the Hacienda Motel in South Los Angeles, who claimed that he had threatened her, and that she killed him in self-defense. The verdict was justifiable homicide, though many believe that crucial details did not come out in court, or were buried afterward. Cooke was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.
Some posthumous releases followed, many of which became hits, including "A Change Is Gonna Come", an early protest song which is generally regarded as his greatest composition.
After Cooke's death, his widow, Barbara, married Bobby Womack. Cooke's daughter, Linda, later married Bobby's brother, Cecil.
The song "A Change Is Gonna Come" was played upon the death of Malcolm X, and was memorably featured in Spike Lee's film Malcolm X. Barack Obama's presidential victory speech paraphrased the song: "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."
Rapper Tupac Shakur references Cooke in a line of the song "Thugz Mansion", and Nas references him in the song "We Major" with Kanye West. The Roots song "Stay Cool" suggests, "I got the soul of a young Sam Cooke". Mike Doughty's song "Sweet Lord in Heaven" evokes the memory of Cooke, as does the Wallflowers 2000 song "Sleepwalker": "Cupid don't draw back your bow, Sam Cooke didn't know what I know". The Irish rock-group Jetplane Landing have a song named "Sam Cooke".
A fictional version of Cooke (portrayed by Paul Mooney) appeared briefly in the 1978 film, The Buddy Holly Story, leaving the stage at the Apollo Theater before Buddy and The Crickets got on. After being featured prominently in the 1985 film Witness, the song "Wonderful World" gained further exposure. "Wonderful World" was featured in one of two concurrently running Levi's Jeans commercials in 1985 and became a hit in the United Kingdom because of this, reaching #2 in re-release. Other notable movies that featured his music are Animal House ("Wonderful World" and "Twistin' the Night Away"), American Werewolf in London, and Cadence ("Chain Gang").
Cooke's songs "Bring It on Home to Me" and "Change is Gonna Come" were both featured in the movie Ali. The opening scene of the movie consisted of a live reenactment of "Bring It on Home to Me".
Posthumous honors
Shortly following his passing, Motown Records released We Remember Sam Cooke, a collection of Cooke covers recorded by The Supremes.
In 1986, Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1999, Cooke was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #16 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
In 2008, Cooke was named the fourth "Greatest Singer of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine."
Covers
John Lennon included a medley of two Cooke songs, "Bring It On Home to Me" and "Send Me Some Lovin'," on his 1975 oldies album, Rock 'n' Roll.
Cooke's songs are covered in a tour-available EP from Decemberists frontman, Colin Meloy. It is the third installment of his solo-tour Colin Meloy Sings...!
Johnny Nash covered the song "Cupid" in 1969 with chart success in the US and UK, and it was included as the B-side on some versions of his 1972 hit single I Can See Clearly Now.
The Animals covered the song "Bring It On Home To Me" in 1965.
Amy Winehouse also covered the song "Cupid" for the BBC Radio 1 album Radio 1 Established 1967.
British soul singer Adele covered the song "That's It, I Quit, I'm Movin' On" as B-side to her single "Chasing Pavements" a bonus track for the Asian release of her studio album 19.
Richard Marx covered "Bring It On Home To Me" and "Wonderful World" during his earlier concerts.
"A Change Is Gonna Come" has been covered several times. Solo, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, The Fifth Dimension, The Neville Brothers, Otis Redding, The Fugees, Cold War Kids, Seal, Bill Frisell, and The Band featuring the vocals of Rick Danko have all recorded versions of the song. Seal's version debuted on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (Billboard, Nov. 2008) shortly after the election of Obama-Biden.
Gene Vincent, who was a big fan and a close personal friend of Sam Cooke's, recorded "Another Saturday Night" in 1964 and "Bring It On Home to Me" shortly before his own death in 1971.
Cat Stevens released his Greatest Hits album (1975) with a cover of Sam Cooke's "Another Saturday Night", only the second song he released that he didn't write himself. He had also released it as a single (July 12, 1974) which reached No.4 in the U.S.
Cooke was an influence on punk vocalist Mia Zapata of The Gits, who honored him with a cover of "A Change Is Gonna Come" on their album Enter: The Conquering Chicken.
In spring 1965 the British group Herman's Hermits reached no. 5 in the US charts and no.7 in the UK charts with their version of "Wonderful World".
In 1978, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, and James Taylor sang "Wonderful World" which hit the Top 40 in the US charts.
In 1966, the now cult 60s British pop show Ready Steady Goes Live, the live version of Ready Steady Go!, devoted a whole programme to a live performance of Soul singer Otis Redding, who regularly covered many of Cooke's songs. One of the highlights was a rousing version of "Shake" on which Redding was joined by British Soul legends Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, and chart topper Chris Farlowe.
Jimmy Buffett covered "Another Saturday Night" on his album Margaritaville Cafe Late Night Menu, in 1993.
Nothin' Can Change This Love
Sam Cooke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I write a letter each and every day
'Cause honey, nothin',
Nothin' can ever change this love
I have for you
Ooh, make me weep,
You can make me cry
And you can pass me by
I know that nothin',
nothin' can ever change this love
I have for you
Oh, you're the apple of my eye
You're cherrie pie
Oh you're cake and ice cream
You're sugar and spice
And everything nice
You're the boy of my, my, my dreams
If you wanted to leave me
And roam
When you get back
I'd just say
Welcome home,
I know that nothin',
Nothin' can ever change the love
I have for you
I know that nothin',
Nothin' can ever change the love
I have for you
The lyrics to Sam Cooke's song "Nothin' Can Change This Love" are a testament to the unwavering love the singer has for his significant other. The singer tells his lover that even if he were to go a million miles away, he would still write a letter to her every day. The love he has for her is so strong that nothing in the world could ever come between them. The singer believes that nothing could make him stop loving her, not even the possibility of her leaving him to roam around. He would still welcome her back with open arms because he knows that nothing can ever change the love he has for her.
The verses also illustrate the depth of the singer's love when he describes his lover as the apple of his eye, cherry pie, cake and ice cream, sugar and spice and everything nice. She is the boy of his dreams that he can’t live without. The chorus reinforces the idea that nothing will ever change the love that he has for his partner. The way the words are spoken in the song are both gentle and persuasive, a perfect love song for any era.
Line by Line Meaning
If I go a million miles away
Even if I am far away from you, my love, I will still communicate with you every day.
'Cause honey, nothin',
My affection for you is unshakable.
Nothin' can ever change this love
Not even distance can weaken my feelings for you, my dearest.
Ooh, make me weep,
You have the power to bring tears to my eyes.
You can make me cry
I am vulnerable to your actions; they can move me to tears.
See me comin'
Even if you notice me, you could choose to ignore me.
And you can pass me by
You could easily brush me off and keep walking.
I know that nothin',
Despite this scenario, I am confident that nothing will ever change my emotions.
nothin' can ever change this love
Nothing in the world can alter the love and passion I feel for you.
Oh, you're the apple of my eye
You are my love interest, the highlight of all my thoughts.
You're cherrie pie
You are a delicacy and a delight, like a wonderful cherry pie.
Oh you're cake and ice cream
You are both delicious and refreshing, like a slice of cake and scoop of ice cream.
You're sugar and spice
You have the perfect blend of sweetness and feistiness.
And everything nice
You have all the qualities I could ask for in a significant other.
You're the boy of my, my, my dreams
You are the one I've always envisioned being with, my dream come true.
If you wanted to leave me
Even if you feel compelled to part ways with me,
And roam
And venture on your own journey,
When you get back
Upon your return,
I'd just say
I will gladly welcome you back into my life,
Welcome home,
And make you feel loved and appreciated.
I know that nothin',
My feelings for you are unchanging and unwavering.
Nothin' can ever change the love
Nothing can ever change the affectionate emotions I have for you.
I have for you
I am permanently devoted to you, and nothing can change that.
Contributed by Olivia K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Briana Guzman
If I go, a million miles away
I'd write a letter, each and everyday
'Cause honey nothing, nothing can ever change this love I have for you
Mmmmmm, make me weep
And you can make me cry
See me coming
And you can pass me by
But honey, nothing, nothing can ever change this love I have for you
Wo-oh-oh, you're the apple of my eye, you're cherry pie
And oh you're, you're cake and ice cream
Oh you're sugar and spice, and everything nice
You're the girl of my, my, my, my, dreams
But if you wanted, to leave me and roam
When you got back, I'd just say welcome home
'Cause honey nothing, nothing, nothing can ever change this, love I have, for you
Wo-oh-oh-oh...
[Musical Interlude]
I know, I know, I know, I know, I know that nothing, nothing, nothing can ever
Change the love I have for you
ya welcome for the lyrics😭💜
Granny G
I grew up in the 60's with two parents who got dressed to the nine hundreds with bow tie and evening gowns on and partied to the sound of Mr Sam Cooke. When he was murdered, the Black community grieved for him more then we grieved for Kennedy. We had a connection to Cooke through his voice and style. Kennedy was trying to get to the moon
Glen McGregor
I came to the states in '58. I was a 12 year old orphan from Scotland. Sam was one of the first voices I remember hearing. I had never heard music like his and it was a wonderful sound. I went through my school years listening to Sam. He never sang a bad one. Such an incredible talent. I remember that day in December when it came on the news. Couldn't believe it, and it's still hard to believe that he was taken like that. A one of a kind, a talent never matched. So very glad that he is still with us in his music.
James A. Hamilton
Amen!
Roslyn Andrews
Beautiful soul Sam Cooke❤❤your music was loved by Maori people from New Zealand
Simon Higgins
Modern singers just can't hold a candle. Such power in that voice.
MegaOldSkool
All of us who loves Sam Cooke’s music can hear beyond doubt his roots of “gospel music”! It never leaves you.... that’s SOUL music!
Amber
I feel at ease when I listen to Sam sing. It's a crying shame he died so young because the world was deprived of this effortlessly silky-smooth voice.
Joyce Brown
Sam's Voice was Truly ANOINTED!!!! Hands Down the GREATEST ❤
Lee McGrogan
Sam was THE man.. In my own opinion, the most soulful voice ever!! Sadly missed. Love this song...
Beata Os
Nothing like Mr. Sam Cooke to make someone's soul feel many many things!