(ThyBlackMan.com) Before Sam Cooke became a household name with hits like You Send Me and A Change Is Gonna Come, he was simply a young man with a velvet voice, raised on gospel, rooted in faith, and ...

There are many reasons why Sam Cooke is considered today to be one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Perhaps the one that stands out the most is just how effortless the man’s sound was. It ...

When it comes to singing voices, there are many reasons to listen closer to a certain one. Perhaps it's smooth and luxurious, perhaps its gravely and hard or, as in the case of the great soul singer ...

In July 2004, I went on a nine-day driving and reporting tour of Mississippi. On my itinerary was a pilgrimage to the house in Clarksdale where Sam Cooke was born. Cooke has been an obsession of mine ...

Sam Cooke wrote “A Change is Gonna Come” shortly before his death in 1964. It is considered an anthem of the civil rights movement. Sam Cooke, a soul music icon who died 60 years ago this week, wrote ...

Each Sunday, Pitchfork takes an in-depth look at a significant album from the past, and any record not in our archives is eligible. Today we revisit a monumental artifact of soul—one of the best live ...

Sam Cooke, a soul music icon who died 60 years ago this week, wrote the first draft of one of his most famous songs, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” while sitting on a bus in Durham. That’s according to ...