Death of a Rock Star

Sam Cooke

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Episode notes

Sam Cooke's music makes you feel nostalgic for a time you never knew. Perfect little love songs that take you back to the innocence of the late Fifties, the early Sixties. But they could've sounded so different, in a world where a black man could sing like a black man to everyone. Where he could be himself everywhere. But there’s other stuff you need to know about Sam Cooke. Because he’s the voice, but he’s so much more. The dodgy managers stealing his money, the run-ins with the Mafia. The racism – the threats, the violence. The wiretaps from the FBI. And how it all ends… In a cheap motel, with a call girl and a handgun, when he’s just starting to change the world.

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