Murdered Singer Sam Cooke One Step Closer To Getting Biopic

For a long time, Sam Cooke was a brilliant businessman and a beautiful voice. He recorded numerous top ten songs, started his own record label and was fast on his way to becoming a reasonably important cultural icon. Then he heard Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” and suddenly all of his success wasn’t enough. He couldn’t remain quiet about the trumped up arrests and the stifling inequality. If Bob Dylan could comment on the Civil Rights Struggle, so could he. The result was one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever recorded. Honest and haunting, “A Change Is Gonna Come” was voted as the twelfth greatest song of all-time by Rolling Stone, and it ultimately became the piece of music we most closely relate to the fight against inequality. Unfortunately, Cooke didn’t live to see it released. He was robbed of both his clothing and wallet by a prostitute. He ran to a hotel manager for help, who, fearful of a screaming naked black man, shot and severely beat him with a broomstick until he died. Chargers were never filed against her.

A few years back, Peter Guralnick published what many consider to be the formative biography on the singer Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke. Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais have since adapted it into a screenplay, and now, according to THR, ABKCO, the holder of most of Cooke’s master recordings, is actively looking to make the biopic happen. No director or stars have been signed, but the script does cover the musician’s entire life. Expect the result to be happy, sad, joyful and triumphant.

I’ve gone ahead and embedded Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” below. If you’re not at work, take a listen. It’s still just as beautiful nearly fifty years later…

Mack Rawden
Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.