Sam’s Story

In a small town in Mississippi, a preacher and his wife searched for a better life for their family. They decided to move to Chicago, where they raised their 8 children. One of those children was a friendly and charismatic boy named Sam, and he grew up to change music history in the United States.

Sam loved to sing with his family and at church. When he was 9 years old, Sam stuck 12 popsicle sticks into the dirt in a line and stood in front of them. “What are you doing?” asked his younger brother, L.C. “This is my audience,” Sam replied, wisely. “I’m learning how to perform. I’m going to be a singer.”

After 6 more years of practice, Sam was invited to join the Soul Stirrers, a popular gospel group. When his friends heard him singing lead vocals with the group, they were amazed at his smooth voice. Singing with The Soul Stirrers was fun, but eventually Sam wanted to go his own way and create music for more people. He wanted to become a popular solo singer, beyond the spiritual music of his childhood.

His friends and family did not support him. They told him not to sing other types of music. It was scary for Sam to go his own way, and if he failed, he would not be welcome back to singing gospel music again. In fact, it was so scary for Sam that he released his first solo song using a different name - Dale Cook! Sam’s family recognized his voice when they heard the song, but instead of being upset, Sam’s father encouraged him to continue sharing his voice with the world.

The following year, Sam knew he was on the right path. Sam’s first hit song, “You Send Me” was released in 1957 and sold over 1 million copies! He went on to write many more hit songs. Sam even recorded a song with one of his old friends from his gospel music days. When asked about the secret to his song writing, Sam answered thoughtfully, “The secret is observation. If you observe what’s going on and try to figure out how people are thinking, you can always write something that people will understand.”

Everyone loved dancing to Sam’s music. People cheered and danced until their feet hurt! His songs were very popular with people of many races. Sam used his fame to support other Black people in the United States. During that time, it was common for people of color to be separated from White people at concerts, but Sam refused to sing unless all of his fans could dance together as one group.

In 1964, Sam was invited to sing and talk on a famous show called American Bandstand. The host of the show asked Sam, “What would be the greatest thing in the world that would happen to you, if you had your choice?” As a smile spread across his face, Sam replied without hesitation. “The greatest thing that could happen to me is if all the singers I’m connected with had hits.” And Sam’s friends did have hits! Sam’s success helped many other soul singers in the United States to be successful too, and we can still hear the influence of Sam’s smooth voice in songs written now.

January 22, 1931 - December 11, 1964