♪ >> Handsome, talented, and charismatic, Sam Cooke was the architect of soul music.

>> ♪ Don't know much about history ♪ >> He combined gospel, pop, and rock 'n' roll to create the model a thousand singers would follow.

>> ♪ Don't know much about a science book ♪ >> He was smart, he was savvy, he was sexy.

He became one of the biggest stars in pop music, and then, at the height of his fame and power, he was killed in a senseless shooting.

Sam Cooke is a legend.

This is his story.

>> ♪ Yeah ♪ But I do know that I love you ♪ ♪ And I know that if you love me too ♪ ♪ What a wonderful world this would be ♪ >> Let's do a little capsule version of the Sam Cooke story.

How did it all happen?

>> Hmm, the capsule version.

Born.

My father was a minister.

I started singing in the church, naturally, because I was exposed to gospel singing first, Mike.

Came out of school, went with a professional gospel group called The Soul Stirrers, sang around the country with them for about five years.

Decided to go on my own.

>> In just seven years, Sam Cooke had reached the pinnacle of public recognition and personal achievement.

He was the leading gospel singer in the country when he switched over to pop music in 1957, and with his first release, "You Send Me," he had a number-one hit.

>> ♪ I know you ♪ Send me ♪ Honest, you do >> From that time on, Sam Cooke was always on the charts.

His hits, most of which he wrote himself, were instantly recognizable, and his influence was enormous.

The Stones wanted to meet him, the Beatles wanted to tour with him, Rod Stewart wanted to be him.

>> ♪ Twistin' the night away >> Sam Cooke had all the success a singer could dream of.

And then he was killed at the height of his creative powers.

If Sam Cooke had lived, he would've shaped popular music in ways we can't imagine.

>> Sam was a prince of a man.

He just had everything going for him.

Sam had the looks, he had the voice, he had the manner.

He had the charm, and he had the savoir faire.

>> Sam Cooke is the man.

I mean, there's no way to explain Sam no more than that he was one of the greatest entertainers I had ever seen perform in my life.

>> He had an energy that was -- and a personality that was really captivating.

You just liked him.

And you figured he liked you.

>> There's a wealth of knowledge in the life of Sam Cooke, man.

>> I said if you can make more money singing pop music than you can the church song that you're singing, I says, "That's not your religion.

That's your job."

>> And so, with my father's advice, Sam went and done just what he said.

Sam started singing, and, boy, did he sing.

>> ♪ Darling, youuuuu ♪ Send me >> On June 1, 1957, Sam went into the studio to record his own composition for Specialty Records.

But after a disagreement with the label owners, Sam and Bumps took the song to a new label, Keen.

>> ♪ At first, I thought it was infatuation ♪ ♪ But, whoo, it's lasted sooo long ♪ ♪ Now I find myself wanting ♪ To marry you and take you home ♪ ♪ I know, I know, I know ♪ You send me ♪ I know that youuuu ♪ Send me ♪ Oh, whoa ♪ You, you, you, you ♪ Send me ♪ Honest, you do ♪ Whoa, oh ♪ I know, I know, I know, I know when you hold me ♪ ♪ And, whoa, oh, whoa ♪ Whenever you kiss me ♪ Mm-hmm ♪ Mm-hmm >> "You Send Me" went to number one in the country and sent shock waves through the gospel community.

>> People were very upset about it, especially the preachers.

They were making a big thing out of it, that, you know, he just turned over, started serving the devil.

>> Just a few months into his pop career, Sam Cooke was booked on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

For his fans, the broadcast was a big event.

>> He had just left the gospel field not that long ago, and the idea and the fact that he was going to be "Ed Sullivan," this was a major high point.

And, finally, when the big moment arrived, you know, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, Sam Cooke," and boom -- he came out, and that lobby just erupted with cheers and screams and swoons and what have you.

>> ♪ Darling, you send me ♪ I know >> And they cut him short.

Oh, my God, what did they do that for?

And we just -- we had a fit, and we just all but turned the lobby and the hotel out.

But he did very quickly announce after that that he was going to have him come back the next week, and everybody s-- settled down.

>> I did wrong one night here on our stage by young Sam Cooke from the coast, and I got -- I never received so much mail in my life, Sam.

But the applause in the audience ran overboard that night.

I never did get him on, but he has been on in the first part of the show, and here he is, singing his newest hit record.

Sam, take it.

♪ >> ♪ I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ For sentimental reasons ♪ I hope you do believe me ♪ I've given you my, my, my, my, my, my ♪ ♪ Given you my heart because I mmm, mmm you ♪ ♪ And you alone were meant for me ♪ ♪ Please give your loving heart to me ♪ ♪ And say we'll never part >> Sam's success got him booked on TV shows all over the country, and he was constantly on the road.

>> Occasionally we did run into Sam on the road, and one time in particular, we were all there in the hotel, and his room was only two doors away from my room.

And then The Staple Singers were right across the hall from him.

So, I got dressed and went down, knocked on his door and sat there, and he was not married at this time, okay?

[ Chuckles ] Sat on the side of the bed, very innocuously, and we were just talking about the music industry and other artists and whatever it was we were talking about.

And the door was closed.

And while we were talking, the conversation took another turn.

And read between the lines.

[ Chuckles ] And my dad was looking for me concurrently, at the same time, just as it took this other turn.

And we hear this, like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

"Aretha, I know you're in there!"

You know, and we, like, froze like this.

Well, we weren't doing anything, but I guess I shouldn't have been in there either.

So we were like -- it gave new meaning to "waiting to exhale."

We were, like, stiff like, "Oh, my God."

So then I could hear The Staple Singers in the background saying, "No, Reverend Franklin, she -- I don't think she's in there.

We don't know where she is."

He said, "Alright."

And I heard him going back down the hall.

Well, as soon as he turned that corner going down the hall, I shot out of Sam's room and I never even looked in the direction of his room again.

That was it.

So, today, I say Daddy never knew how he changed the course of history with that loud knocking on the door.

>> In 1958, the March of Dimes recruited Sam for their fundraising campaign.

>> ♪ Desire me ♪ Desire me ♪ As I desire you ♪ Desire me and want me ♪ That's all I'll ever ask of life ♪ ♪ That you will someday come to me ♪ ♪ And say that you love me as I love you ♪ ♪ Mmm, desire me and tell me ♪ That you are mine and mine alone ♪ ♪ Desire me and love me ♪ And be the queen upon my throne ♪ ♪ For I will always worship you no matter where you go or what you do ♪ >> In the late '50s, Sam Cooke had hit after hit on tiny Keen Records, but his ambition was to be more than just another R&B singer.

>> I think Sam wanted a white audience.

That was his drive.

He had the black community.

There was not a problem.

You know, he was missing the other community.

>> Hello, everybody, and welcome to "The Arthur Murray Party."

To start the evening off, we have invited a young singer who already has the most amazingly long list of hit recordings, and he deserves every one of them.

It's Sam Cooke!

[ Applause ] ♪ >> ♪ Mary, Mary Lou ♪ Why must you do ♪ The things that you always do ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ I've been here a-cryin' ♪ Sipping and a-sighing ♪ To think it's all because of you ♪ ♪ I know the other night you told me ♪ ♪ You were gonna marry ♪ Someone who's in love with you, yeah ♪ ♪ And all the time I used to ♪ Be your golden rooster ♪ But now I can see that we are through ♪ ♪ Whoa, oh >> Sam's crossover models were Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr., and Nat King Cole.

Within six months of the start of his pop career, Sam was booked into the Copacabana in New York City, which symbolized mainstream show-business success.

>> The Copa, let's face it.

That was the place.

If you been to the Copa, man, that was it.

>> The pressure on Sam to succeed at the Copa was tremendous.

He and his producer, "Bumps" Blackwell, struggled to get his act together before the show.

>> Right up till the time that he went on, everyone involved was on the floor, copying parts for the orchestra 'cause he had rhythm parts, and they hadn't been expanded to what the orchestra was, so it was pretty much disorganized.

>> He was still cutting his teeth, you know?

So Sam, this being his first real what you could say Class A, you know, supper club performance, he was a little shaky, yes.

>> There were just holes in the act.

It wasn't really an act.

It was just... His personality was carrying it.

It's not like it was paced for the Copa or arranged for the Copa.

>> To make matters worse, Sam was on the bill with Borscht Belt comedian Myron Cohen.

The club was packed with a middle-aged, white audience who were not impressed with Sam.

>> Went to the Copa, bombed.

>> You bombed?

[ Laughter ] Did you really?

>> That's right.

I bombed.

>> You and I -- I bombed at the Copa.

>> Well, see, here's what happened.

>> I bombed.

>> Copa's a funny room, and unless you know show business and unless you give it a real adult approach, you bomb, and that's what I did, 'cause I didn't lay good.

That's why I say bomb.

>> Because there are Copas everywhere, it's the one in New York City you're talking about.

>> That's right.

>> For some reason -- I can't explain it -- it happens to be the prestige date of all time.

If you make it at the Copa, that's it.

>> I don't think that's true.

>> Isn't that true?

>> Why do you think you bombed?

Why?

>> I know why I bombed.

'Cause I wasn't ready.

♪ Somebody have mercy ♪ And tell me what is wrong with me ♪ >> After his failure at the Copa, Sam went back to work in the Chitlin' Circuit, his dreams of color-blind success shot down.

For the first time in his life, Sam Cooke had failed, and he hated it.

>> ♪ Oh, I got a long way to get there ♪ ♪ And I got a short time to go >> Like every other black artist out on the road, Sam had to face the insults of prejudice on a daily basis.

>> There was no rooming or boarding house where we, as black artists, could rest.

You had to travel 150 miles before you sleep in the next room.

Maybe 200 before you find some place to sleep.

>> We had to stay in some -- ooh, some bad places, you know.

>> I mean, we sang in places sometimes we had to...

It was always the thing -- kept a good watch and a good ring, so you never knew when you had to hawk it to get out of town.

>> ♪ I'm drifting and drifting >> You had to deal with all of that.

You had to deal with being stopped on the highway, everybody get out the car, take everything out, and see what you got.

And they say, "Go ahead.

Don't be in the town past 2:00."

>> Sam -- He didn't back down.

You didn't push him.

Once he told the police in Memphis, Charles ran out of gas, and the police come and told Sam to push the car, you know, to the side of the street.

Sam told them, said, "My name is Sam Cooke.

If you haven't heard of me, your wife know me."

He said, "Now, when you get home tonight, you ask your wife does she know Sam Cooke."

He said, "I don't push no cars."

He said, "This is my car.

My brother ran out of gas.

I'm not pushing.

You want to put a ticket on it?

Put a ticket on it.

I'll pay the fine."

He said, "But I don't push nobody car, mine and yours and nobody else."

He said, "I'm not a pusher.

I'm a singer."

And he sat back in his car.

Police went and left him alone.

Charles come up with the gas and they left.

>> In Atlanta, Georgia, Sam headlined a concert that was to be broadcast on "The Dick Clark Beechnut Show."

>> The Ku Klux Klan heard that we were going to mix a black man into a white cast.

They said, "Unh-unh, no, not in Atlanta, you're not gonna do that."

And the Ku Klux Klan sent their people there.

I went to Sam and said, "This could turn out to be ugly.

What do you want to do?

You want to do this thing?"

He said, "Well, I'm gonna be out there for 2 1/2 or 3 minutes.

You're gonna be there for the full 30 minutes.

Are you gonna do it?"

I said, "Well, I don't have any problem.

I'll do it."

And he said, "And I'll do it."

>> He was -- if not the first -- he was one of the first that refused to sing to a segregated audience.

>> We got to Little Rock.

We played in the armory, okay?

Military armory.

And they said, "Well, you're gonna have to do two shows."

And he said, "Why?"

They said, "We got to do a show for the white audience and a show for the black audience."

And Sam said, "No.

We'll do one show for both."

>> The whites would come in and be seated.

Then the blacks would come in, and they'd be seated.

And you had a stage in the middle.

And the K-9 dogs would be going up and down the aisles.

And so, black people reacted more than whites.

When they heard a song that they'd been hearing on the radio, oh, man, you thought they were going to heaven.

They'd jump up and scream, and them dogs would come out and attack.

>> It was weird, man.

And the further south we got, the worse it got.

>> And Sam says, "Man, I'm telling you."

He said, "I can't do this no more."

>> ♪ I wish somebody, yeah ♪ Would come and ease my ♪ Troubling mind >> After one show in St. Louis in November of '58, Sam was on his way to Mississippi with his driver, Eddie Cunningham, the guitar player, Cliff White, and Lou Rawls.

>> And it was raining, and we were in Sam's convertible Cadillac, and we came over the hill, and a truck was sitting in the middle of the highway with no lights or nothing, and Eddie hit the brakes, and the front of the car went down and went up under the back of the truck and just kind of cut the top off.

>> One side didn't look like, from a distance, didn't look like much of an accident, but the other side...

The passenger side was -- oh, it was terrible.

>> And I stayed in a coma 5 1/2 days with a brain concussion.

Sam -- all he got, he got a little piece of glass in the corner of his eye.

Cliff White, the guitar player, had his collarbone broke.

And, of course, Eddie, he -- he left.

>> Sam's driver died in the accident.

A few months later, his ex-wife, Dolores, also died in a car crash.

Within certain circles of the gospel community, it was seen almost as a judgment.

Sam was shaken.

>> ♪ How can there be a cherry ♪ That has no stone?

♪ And how can there be ♪ A chicken ♪ That has no bone?

♪ How can there be a ring ♪ That has no end?

♪ Tell me, how can there be ♪ A baby ♪ With no cryin'?

♪ A cherry when it's bloomin' ♪ Ain't got no stone ♪ And a chicken ♪ When it's pippin' ♪ Ain't got no bone ♪ And I know, I know, I know ♪ A ring that's rollin' ♪ Has no end ♪ And, oh ♪ A baby when it's sleepin' ♪ There's no cryin' ♪ A baby when it's sleepin' ♪ There's no cryin' ♪ ♪ >> As the 1950s ended, Sam was looking for more stability in his life.

>> ♪ You're always on my mind >> He went back to Chicago and married his childhood sweetheart, Barbara Campbell, who had given birth to Sam's daughter six years before.

>> When I was born, she was 18, and he told her that he was gonna come back for her.

She had to deal with him marrying in between, but it was a very special relationship that they had together.

>> Barbara and Linda moved out to California to be with Sam.

Not long after that, Barbara gave birth to Sam's second daughter, Tracy.

Now that he had a family to support, he wanted to sign with a major label.

Sam wasn't making any money on Keen Records.

His manager, Jess Rand, got him a deal with RCA.

>> ♪ My teenage sonata >> Sam's first RCA release, "Teenage Sonata," was just what its title suggests -- a typical, angst-ridden teen love song.

It was not a big hit.

The second record sank without a trace.

It wasn't until Keen had a number-two hit with "Wonderful World" that RCA finally put out a single that Sam had written himself.

"Chain Gang" became a huge hit.

>> ♪ That's the sound of the men ♪ ♪ Working on the chain ♪ Gaaang ♪ That's the sound of the men ♪ Working on the chain gang ♪ All day long, they're sayin'...♪ >> The crossover is what we were looking for and still trying to keep him what he was.

A song like "Chain Gang" did exactly that.

>> They were driving.

It was in the South, and it was hot.

And they had the windows open, and the chain gang was out there working.

And Sam wrote the song.

"That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang."

>> Many time, you understand, I've been with him and he just, all of a sudden, get a idea for a song and start writing.

And like I said, I've even seen him write on toilet tissue, man.

We didn't have no paper -- [ Chuckles ] No other paper to write on.

He'd write on that, you know?

>> He would just sit up and listen to people.

He said, "Man, listen to the people talk."

And that's where you get your hooks from.

>> He always expressed.

He says, "If you're writing a song that you really want to get to people, you got to put it into a language that they understand."

>> His songs were so well-written and well-crafted.

He had the kind of song that had the whole world singing.

>> ♪ Gang ♪ All day long they're saying, hmm, my, my, my, my, my ♪ ♪ My, my >> Sam was constantly writing new songs.

Now that he owned the rights to his music, he was primed to take an even bigger leap.

At a time when Motown was just beginning, without anyone in the white world even noticing, Sam Cooke took possession of the means of production and set about building a label of his own.

>> Today, people think that an artist writes his own songs and publishes them and records them and so forth, but in those days, that was very rare.

I mean, Paul Anka used to write his own songs and publish them, but it really wasn't until the Beatles came along and began to create their own material, publish them, and create those concept albums that they took control.

They began to learn the business, know the business.

Sam was a pioneer.

He knew the business way before you were supposed to know it.

>> In 1959, Sam formed SAR Records with his partner, J.W.

Alexander, and S.R.

Crain of The Soul Stirrers.

At first, it wasn't much more than an office, but for Sam, this was a chance to take control and an opportunity to write and produce for other artists.

The first act signed at the label was his old gospel group, The Soul Stirrers.

>> ♪ Satan thought he had me ♪ Now I know he's mad ♪ The Lord saved my soul, and He made me ♪ ♪ Oh, and now I'm free at last ♪ Jesus is calling >> SAR was Sam's little outlet to play with and do whatever he wanted to do.

It was strictly Sam's idea.

>> He wanted to reach out and help those gospel people who were making no money.

He wanted to reach out and record them.

>> ♪ Ohhhh >> ♪ Cupid, draw back your bow >> By the early '60s, Sam Cooke was coming into his own.

As an owner of SAR Records, he was honing his skills as a producer and a songwriter and developing young talent for the label.

As a singles artist, he was the second-best-selling act on RCA behind Elvis Presley.

But rock 'n' roll was still seen as music for teenagers.

Sam was haunted by his failure at the Copa.

He wondered if he would ever capture the mainstream adult audience.

Sam Cooke was determined to become a crossover superstar and to do it on his own terms.

>> ♪ Basin Street ♪ My Basin Street ♪ Where the young and the old folk meet ♪ ♪ Down in New Orleans ♪ In that land of dreams ♪ You don't know how nice it seems ♪ ♪ But it's dear to me ♪ Yes, sirree ♪ And that's the place I'm so longing to be ♪ ♪ Where I can lose ♪ These old Basin Street blues Ha!

♪ Oh, I'm talkin' 'bout ♪ Basin Street ♪ My Basin Street ♪ Where the folk who know what's happenin' meet ♪ ♪ Down in New Orleans ♪ In that land of dreams ♪ And you don't know how nice it seems or just how much it really means ♪ ♪ Dear to me ♪ Yes, sirree ♪ So dear to me ♪ Yes, sirree ♪ Can't you see why I want to lose ♪ ♪ Those old Basin Street blues ♪ Ohhh, oh ♪ I want to go where I can lose ♪ ♪ Those old Basin Street bluuuuues ♪ Ha!

Yeah.

[ Applause ] ♪ >> To support his label and himself, Sam Cooke was constantly on the road.

>> ♪ Don't fight the feeling ♪ Got to feel the feeling tonight ♪ >> Everywhere he went, audiences went crazy for him.

>> ♪ Don't fight it ♪ Don't fight it, baby, feel it, ha!

♪ >> When he came out, the response of that audience was magic.

He had that quality.

The audience was enwrapped.

>> Going out on tour with him was my very first tour.

He followed me and just killed and just wrecked.

Every place that we went, he just wore people out.

You know, they were just falling by the wayside.

When he would come on, the buildings would just erupt.

>> Sam was cool.

He could do everything.

He could sing anything.

But when he was there, he was totally under control.

And the thing I loved about him was the girls loved him and the guys liked him, which is rare.

If you can get them both, you got it.

Sam had it.

>> ♪ For every song they played was the cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ Every song they played was the cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ "Tom Dooley," "Tea for Two" ♪ Cha-cha-cha ♪ Ooh, every number was the cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ We kept on dancing ♪ And was I surprised, for you see ♪ ♪ After we practiced for a little while ♪ ♪ She was doing it better than me ♪ ♪ Now my baby loves to do the cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ Ooh, she loves to do the cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ She likes her ♪ Ooh, she likes to cha-cha-cha ♪ ♪ Ooh, everybody likes to cha-cha-cha ♪ >> Although Sam was focused on building his mainstream-pop audience, he never forgot his roots.

And the gospel fans always embraced him.

>> ♪ I know that you'll stand by me to the end ♪ >> Sam's heart was always in gospel.

Sam loved gospel.

Probably if Sam was living today, Sam would probably be singing gospel again.

>> Heart and soul, I think he was always a gospel singer.

>> And he never really left The Soul Stirrers 'cause he always took The Soul Stirrers along with him.

>> ♪ Ohhhhhhh >> On New Year's Eve 1962, Sam performed with The Soul Stirrers in Newark, New Jersey.

>> ♪ I tell him, Lord ♪ I'll be alright if I can get ♪ >> When he came on and joined The Soul Stirrers, the house went crazy.

And all these women were going up, throwing their arms in the air, shivering... [ Snaps fingers ] ...and passing out.

Just fainting.

Everybody was fainting.

That's all I remember, is the whole place was fainting, mostly women.

And it was probably the greatest show I ever saw in my life.

>> As Sam became more successful as a performing artist, he was able to buy a spacious house in an all-white neighborhood of Los Angeles.

>> We went to this very isolated, insulated home with gates around, and we had a pool in the front, but everything was quite closed off.

I think that for him and the time and the stature of what he was building to, it was something that was very important.

>> And I remember going to Sam's, in Sam's music room at the house, and he had these huge speakers.

They were bigger and better than the speakers at the studio.

>> We had a black history -- full black history library before black history was even talked about or known about.

>> Sam Cooke was my kind of person because he was interested quietly in black history.

He read.

He wanted to read.

He would come over to my place, and I had to hide my books, because Sam would be walking out of the door with one of my books, saying, "I'll bring it back tomorrow."

>> Yeah, he would always sit and read a lot.

Read a lot.

And he started getting really heavy off into history, black history.

>> At the time that we went on tour, he was reading a book.

I don't know for what reason, but he was reading a book called "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."

I went out and bought "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" too.

And I never read it.

I couldn't tell you today what was on page one or two, but because he had it, I wanted to have it.

>> You know, he started saying, "If you read more, the more you read, the better writer you'll be."

>> ♪ Glory, ha ♪ Halleluuuuu >> Toward the end of 1962, he toured England with Little Richard and encountered the adulation of a young white audience, including the then-unknown Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, and the Rolling Stones.

>> ♪ Let me tell you about a place ♪ ♪ Somewhere up a New York way ♪ All where the people are so gay, twistin' the night away ♪ ♪ And, man, they have a lot of fun ♪ ♪ They're puttin' trouble on the run ♪ ♪ Man, you find the old and young twistin' the night away ♪ ♪ They're twistin', twistin' ♪ And everybody's feelin' great ♪ ♪ They're twistin', twistin' ♪ Twistin' the night ♪ Let me tell you about 'em >> It was a wonderful thing to watch.

Once there was a lady journalist standing next to me, who I believe that was the first time I'd seen an orgasm from a woman standing up.

This is the effect that Sam Cooke had on people.

>> Now, when he went to Europe, man... [ Whistles ] Boy, they thought he was gold.

>> ♪ Oh, man, there ain't nothin' like ♪ ♪ Twistin' the night away ♪ They're twistin', twistin' ♪ Everybody's feelin' great >> His effect on the English kids was a revelation to Sam.

He returned to America with a new idea.

Instead of trying to please the mainstream audience by singing white, he would bring what he called the gospel fervor to the mainstream.

This was the act he debuted at the Harlem Square Club in January of 1963.

>> ♪ Got to tell you I feel right now ♪ ♪ This song gonna tell you how I feel ♪ ♪ I know you been gone away for a long time, but listen ♪ ♪ Baby, if you ever ♪ Change your mind ♪ About leavin', leavin' me behind ♪ ♪ Ohhh, bring it to me ♪ Bring your sweet love ♪ Bring it on home to me >> See, now, Harlem Square was a club, strictly black.

You understand?

And they wanted you to get down.

That's why they came to the show, to see you get down.

They know Sam could get down, and Sam got down.

So that was the Harlem Square.

>> ♪ Ohhh, bring it to me ♪ I better leave that alone ♪ And bring it on home to me ♪ Yeah >> Just one month later, he recorded his most sophisticated album, "Night Beat" -- a late-night record that served as a kind of tribute to early inspirations like Charles Brown.

>> ♪ I'm lost ♪ And a-lookin' for my baby >> In the summer of 1963, Sam was hit with a personal tragedy.

His 18-month-old son, Vincent, drowned in the family swimming pool.

>> I know he was tragically upset.

I mean, it was, like, one of the worst things.

He didn't want to live.

It was the one thing he wanted more than anything.

He wanted a son.

Then they took his son away.

>> He was depressed.

I knew he was depressed.

I could feel the depression.

He didn't talk about it, you know?

He did -- He talked about the way it happened, why it happened and all.

But after that, you know, he just kind of suppressed it and kept stepping, and I guess he vented his anxieties and all through his music.

>> ♪ Lord knows my baby ain't around ♪ >> It was around this time that he met Allen Klein.

Klein had made a reputation in the music business when he represented Bobby Darin in a dispute with his record label over royalty payments.

>> Sam indicated that he was not happy with the manner in which he was being treated.

It's not unusual for artists to be unhappy, but he was visibly unhappy.

And he just said he thought he was being treated like a [bleep] And I said, "Well, you know, just give me the records.

Let me look at them, and we'll see what we can find out."

>> Klein negotiated a new deal for Cooke with RCA.

Sam would gain control of his back catalog, as well as his new recordings.

>> That was a key thing, where he would have total control.

He writes his own songs, he makes his own records, he performs them.

I mean, we were like a self-contained record company, and we would own the product.

>> ♪ Shake >> For the first time, Sam's financial future was assured, and he began to look at radical new ways of defining his career.

>> Are you traveling like you used to?

>> No, I'm not, Dick.

I'm mostly staying home now.

>> Will you produce and write and so forth?

>> I'm producing and writing, as I said, for other people.

>> Sam really was looking to be in a position to guide and direct and create new talent, like Bobby Womack, the Womack Brothers, and he had the Sims Twins, you know.

Great talents.

>> ♪ Oh, you're looking good ♪ Now shake ♪ Yeah ♪ Aha, shake >> The Womack Brothers recorded for SAR as The Valentinos.

Sam produced their single "It's All Over Now."

When the Rolling Stones covered the record, it became an even bigger hit.

>> He said, "It's gonna be huge, Bobby."

Here's a guy that's always way ahead of his time.

And he could sense.

"Man, this song is gonna be -- you'll be part of history.

This will be very important."

>> ♪ Because I used to love her ♪ ♪ Yeah, it's all over now >> So, Sam was a -- he was gonna be a Berry Gordy before Berry Gordy was Berry Gordy.

>> He loved being in the studio and recording and making records, not just for himself.

He knew how to make you feel very comfortable.

He was very good at bringing the best out.

>> Working with Sam in the studio was really a joy.

I mean, he had total control over everything.

He knew exactly what he wanted to hear.

>> He had the ears, he had the sound, he knew the moods, he knew the movements and stuff.

And that's what he would impart.

>> Sam definitely was an outstanding producer, and whoever's name is on "produced by," whether it was Hugo & Luigi or Al Schmitt later on, Sam was a big part of the production of that, and no matter what, nothing got by without Sam finally saying, "Yeah, I like that."

>> What could be the greatest thing in the world that would happen to you, if you had your choice?

>> The greatest thing to happen to me -- if all the singers I'm connected with had hits.

[ Both laugh ] ♪ Another Saturday night, and I ain't got nobody ♪ >> In the summer of 1964, Allen Klein got Sam a second chance at the Copacabana.

>> Sam was more nervous about going into the Copa than I had ever seen him before.

>> He kept saying forever, "This means more to me than anything."

>> I think this was a big, big step in his career.

You know, they had the poster out -- "the biggest Cooke in town," which was five stories high on Times Square.

There was a lot expected of him.

>> I mean, he rehearsed and he rehearsed until you knew the songs backwards, at his house.

And he said, "I'm gonna get them [bleep] this time."

>> Before the Copa performance, Sam was booked up in the Catskills to try out his show on a supper-club audience.

>> The first night was at the Laurel, and he comes out and he's singing bossa nova "Girl from Ipanema," and it's just wrong.

>> It was horrifying.

I mean, the whole audience left.

Everybody walked out.

>> And I remember running into his dressing room after like I was a manager running after a fighter, you know, with their wet towels, saying, "What the hell did you do?"

And he said, "Well, I didn't have the musicians."

And I said, "No, no, no.

You weren't being Sam Cooke."

I said, "You got to do your songs.

I want you to be Sam Cooke."

>> At the last minute, Sam's longtime arranger, René Hall, was brought in to revamp the show.

>> And then he did his show the way that we thought it should be done, and he just destroyed them.

>> I'm back.

[ Laughter ] I'm back out here.

[ Laughs ] ♪ Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts ♪ ♪ That's the way the story goes ♪ >> He was very, very serious about it.

I mean, most shows he could just do off the top of his head.

That one was very -- he was very proud about it.

It happened for him like he liked.

>> He had it from the beginning.

They just loved him.

He was great.

He killed them.

>> ♪ And I'll never, never do you wroooong ♪ >> Sam's second stand at the Copa was a triumph.

>> ♪ Yeah, unh You know I wouldn't treat you wrong.

>> All of his ambitions were coming true.

Sam Cooke was the face of the new black entertainer.

He was no longer worried about crossing over to the white audience.

They were crossing over to him.

>> ♪ But I remember the night ♪ And that beautiful "Tennessee Waltz" ♪ ♪ Now, I know just how much I've lost, huh ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ I know that I've lost my ♪ I lost my baby ♪ The night that they kept on playing ♪ ♪ That beautiful "Tennessee Waltz" ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ I remember ♪ That night and that beautiful "Tennessee Waltz" ♪ ♪ Now I know just ♪ How much ♪ How much I've lost ♪ Oh, oh, yeah ♪ I know that I lost my ♪ I lost my baby ♪ That night that they kept on playing ♪ ♪ That beautiful ♪ That wonderful ♪ That marvelous ♪ That glorious ♪ That beautiful ♪ "Tennessee Waltz" >> By 1964, Sam Cooke was at the top of his game.

>> I haven't had a song that wasn't a hit, so I was on the charts, I think, from the time I started until now.

>> This is an amazing record.

Now, Sam, most people don't get to do this.

What's the answer?

Now, here's a man whose career, so far, is about six years old in this field, not counting what went on before.

What's the secret?

>> I think the secret is really observation, Dick.

>> What do you mean?

>> Well, if you observe what's going on, try to figure out how people are thinking, and determine the times of your day, I think you can always write something that the people will understand.

♪ Do you like good music?

>> ♪ Yeah, man >> ♪ You crazy about music?

>> ♪ Yeah, man >> The last year of Sam's life was a series of new explorations.

He went out on tour with Jackie Wilson, and the two rhythm and blues giants went head-to-head night after night.

Their friendly rivalry came out during Sam's appearance on "The George Klein Show" in 1964 when Wilson unexpectedly showed up and took the stage.

>> ♪ I told her not to worry ♪ They'd play some other dance >> Well, the first Jackie Wilson tour, really, Sam wasn't prepared for pop singing at the time.

And Jackie Wilson got the best of the tour.

He killed Sam.

But the last tour that they went on, it was Sam's tour.

Now, Jackie told me this.

He said, "L.C., Sam killed me."

He said, "I'll be truthful."

He said, "Sam had me coughing up blood."

He said, "I had million-sellers, one or two."

He said, "But every song Sam sung, man, was a million-seller."

He said, "You can't overcome that."

>> ♪ Ooh ♪ Everybody likes to cha-cha-cha ♪ >> You solidified your own career as far as the singing and the records go.

What do you hope to do in the future?

You're doing different things now, aren't you?

>> Well, now, Dick, I'm working mostly with other young singers, you know.

>> Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Young singers?

Cassius Clay is a young singer?

>> [ Laughs ] >> Did you do that record?

>> Yes, I did.

You know, not the "Stand By Me."

I did the one called "Hey, Hey, the Gang's All Here."

>> This is Sam Cooke.

As you can see, like me, he's awful pretty.

>> [ Laughs ] >> And we are here now working on a record called "The Gang's All Here."

And Sam and I, we expect to have this out in another week or so.

>> Would you like to give us a preview of this disc?

>> Well, I want to give you a little introduction.

This record is talking about, you know, me, the greatest, and the various people in countries such as England and Paris, and, well, give him a sample of it.

>> Come on.

Let's give him.

>> We'll do a lot better if we had the music here with us.

>> But we gonna do it without the music.

>> We'll try now.

>> Both: ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ Join in the fun >> [ Laughs ] >> ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ We're gonna swing as one >> ♪ Do it again now >> Both: ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ Join in the fun ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ We're gonna swing as one >> Is New York with me?

>> Both: ♪ Yeah >> Is Chicago with me?

>> Both: ♪ Yeah >> Is London with me?

>> Both: ♪ Yeah ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ Join in the fun ♪ Hey, hey, the gang's all here ♪ ♪ We're gonna swing as one >> How you like that?

>> ♪ We're having a party >> On February 25, 1964, Sam Cooke, Malcolm X, and Cassius Clay came together in Miami, Florida, for Clay's fight with heavyweight champion Sonny Liston.

Cassius was about to reveal to the world his conversion to Islam.

Sam and Malcolm met and talked religion and politics.

The Beatles were in town that week, too, making their second appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

It was as if a new world were being born in Miami that week.

When Sonny Liston went down in the eighth round, it was more than just the heavyweight champion that had changed.

>> ♪ It's got the whole world shakin' ♪ >> I want the world to know I'm so great, Sonny Liston was not even a match!

Sam Cooke -- Hey, let that man up here.

Let Sam near.

This is the world's greatest rock-'n'-roll singer.

This is Sam Cooke.

>> A very good friend, a good vocalist, with Cassius Clay.

Excuse me.

Move back.

Move back, if you will.

Thank you.

>> We're gonna shake up the world.

♪ >> Like his friend Cassius Clay, Sam was assuming a role in the civil rights struggle.

He decided to deal with race relations in his music for the first time.

He was inspired by the lunch-counter sit-ins he had witnessed, his own arrest for attempting to integrate a Louisiana motel, and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind."

>> ♪ How many times must a man look up ♪ ♪ Before he sees the sky?

♪ Tell me ♪ How many ears must one man have ♪ ♪ Before he can hear people cry?

♪ ♪ What I want to know is ♪ How many deaths will it take till he knows ♪ ♪ Too many people have died?

♪ Oh, the answer, my friend ♪ Is blowin' in the wind ♪ The answer is blowin' in the wind, ha ♪ >> He really wanted to have written "Blowin' in the Wind."

It was a song that he believed a black man should've written.

He believed it was a song that he should've written.

And he wrote "A Change Is Gonna Come."

>> ♪ I was born by the river >> That song affects me more than any song that he ever recorded.

>> ♪ Oh, and just like the river, I've been a-runnin' ♪ ♪ Ever since >> The first time I heard "A Change Is Gonna Come," the hair stood up on my arms, you know.

It just blew me away.

I thought it was a revolutionary kind of a song.

>> He played that song, and he asked me what did I think about it.

And I told him.

I say, "Man, that song feels eerie.

It feels like death."

>> ♪ It's been too hard livin' ♪ But I'm afraid to die ♪ 'Cause I don't know what's up there ♪ ♪ Beyond the sky >> "A Change Is Gonna Come" he said was the hardest song he ever had to write, he ever tried to write.

Said that was the most difficult song.

>> ♪ But I know ♪ A change gonna come ♪ Oh, yes, it will ♪ I go to the movie ♪ And I go downtown >> He was one of the first that I remember that cut the process off and let his natural hair grow out.

He said, "I'm proud of what I am, proud of what I am."

>> When Sam cut his natural, every brother in the country went to the natural, okay?

The processes just started going out the window.

Everybody went natural behind Sam.

>> And then the music started to become more serious.

The message started to become more serious.

>> ♪ Then I go to my brother ♪ And I said, "Brother, help me, please ♪ >> He had a message inside, and he let it out.

I think that was an indication of things that would have come had he been with us to this day.

>> He was telling a story.

Simple words.

It wasn't complicated.

It wasn't repetitious.

It was a poem, a great piece of poetry.

>> ♪ There have been times that I thought ♪ ♪ I couldn't last for long ♪ But now I think I'm able to ♪ Carry on >> "A Change Is Gonna Come" brought up the next generation of blacks, took the old heads, and gave them some pride.

And that is one of the great legacies that he left.

>> ♪ Oh, yes, it will ♪ >> Sam Cooke was no longer just a successful entertainer and businessman.

He was a symbol of a new black American -- proud and independent.

His future seemed unlimited.

And then, astonishingly, word came that Sam Cooke had been shot to death in a Los Angeles motel.

>> I turned on the radio.

You know, that's the first thing I heard.

First thing I heard -- "teenage idol Sam Cooke shot and killed in Los Angeles last night."

I couldn't believe what I heard.

>> ♪ Mmm, mmm-mmm, mmm >> The story that emerged is that Cooke went to a motel with a woman who stole his money and his clothes while he was in the shower.

Evidently believing that the motel manager, Bertha Franklin, was in on the scam, he forced his way into her office, half-naked and enraged.

She waved a gun at Sam and told him to back off.

He grabbed at the gun, they struggled, the gun went off.

>> And how far was Mr. Cooke away from you when you started shooting?

>> He wasn't too far.

He was at close range.

>> And how many times did you fire this pistol?

>> Three times.

>> And do you know whether you struck or did you know you struck Mr. Cooke?

>> Yes, 'cause he said, "Lady, you shot me."

>> That quickly, that foolishly, one of the greatest musical talents of the era was gone.

>> ♪ Lord, I... >> His funeral was one befitting a head of state.

The burial in Los Angeles created waves of hysteria.

But first there was a memorial in Chicago where 10,000 fans waited outside in the cold.

>> This night, I think, was the coldest night I ever spent in Chicago.

It must have been 12 or 14 below zero.

People was out in the street as far -- It looked like a rock concert.

>> The black community refused to accept the circumstances of his death, and rumors of a conspiracy have persisted to this day.

>> I went to Barbara Cooke.

I had the report from the inquest.

I had the detective's report.

And I said, "Listen, let's delve deeper into it."

And she said, "Allen, can you bring him back?

I have two children, and I don't want to put them through this."

>> It is perhaps a measure of how highly Sam was regarded in the community and how much he accomplished in his 33 years that the indignation and hurt have crowded out all other feelings.

Sam Cooke's death has become a symbol of a kind of racial martyrdom.

>> ♪ Bring it to me ♪ Bring your sweet lovin' ♪ Bring it on home to me ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> Sam was a fabulous, fabulous humanitarian and a dynamite artist and a prince of a man.

>> He didn't just do music for this people or that people or for one color of people.

>> ♪ Bring it to me ♪ Bring your sweet lovin' ♪ Bring it on home to me >> He wanted to be that perfect person.

He wanted to reach every group.

He wanted to be able to sing it any way.

He wanted to be everything.

>> Sam had the complete package.

Sam was nice-looking, Sam was friendly, Sam was kind, and Sam could sing and Sam could write.

And if you seen him, you loved him.

>> ♪ Bring your sweet lovin' ♪ Bring it on home to me ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> I had lost a brother.

And who gets used to losing somebody?

Even today, you still carry that with you.

>> Kind of gets to me when I get serious about it.

>> I still miss him.

After all this time, ain't a day go by I don't miss Sam.

>> ♪ Bring it on home to me ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> He was a cool dude.

Sam the man.

He was the man.

>> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Yeah >> ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Life is this way ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Every day ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Life is this way, yeah ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Every day ♪ For that is one thing ♪ That I know ♪ What you reap is what you sow ♪ ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Life is this way ♪ So keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Every day ♪ Brother, mind what you do ♪ And how you treat your fellow man ♪ ♪ If you knew like me, you'd try and live ♪ ♪ The very best you can ♪ For if you spread good all around ♪ ♪ You'd be able to sleep when the sun go down ♪ ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Life is this way ♪ So keep movin' on ♪ Keep movin' on ♪ Every day ♪