R&B/soul crooner Sam Cooke belongs to a tragic class of musicians and entertainers who was taken too young. Dead by 33, Cooke’s hit songs like “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Chain Gang” informed the sensibilities of an entire generation. Now, the man with 29 Top 40 hits is joining an even more elite class as his life story comes to film.
As Prefix Magazine reports, Cooke’s record label ABCKO Music & Records have announced that it will turn Peter Guralnick’s 2005 book Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke into a biopic on the son of a Baptist minister. While an official announcement has yet to have been made regarding any details of the film, Guralnick’s book was an exhaustive look at the birth, childhood, rocket ship of a career and the tragic and controversial death of Cooke outside of an LA hotel in 1964.
Those looking to get familiar with Cooke’s sound can also check out the 2003 documentary Sam Cooke: Legend. There’s also a taste of the timeless soul below.
