Charles Cook, a Baptist minister in the Church of Christ (Holiness), and the former Annie Mae Carroll.

Cooke sang in the choir of his father's church and began his career with his siblings in a group called the Singing Children when he was six years old.

Cooke founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer.

Art Rupe, head of Specialty Records, the label of the Soul Stirrers, gave his blessing for Cooke to record secular music under his real name, but he was unhappy about the type of music Cooke and producer Bumps Blackwell were making.

Rupe expected Cooke's secular music to be similar to that of another Specialty Records artist, Little Richard.

While gospel was popular, Cooke saw that its fans were mostly limited to low-income, rural parts of the country, and he sought to branch out.

Cooke stated: "My father told me it was not what I sang that was important, but that God gave me a voice and musical talent and the true use of His gift was to share it and make people happy."

[31][32] In 1958, Cooke performed for the famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3.

[41] The label soon included the Simms Twins, the Valentinos (who were Bobby Womack and his brothers), Mel Carter and Johnnie Taylor.

For tax reasons, Cooke would receive preferred stock in Tracey instead of an initial cash advance of $100,000.

His incredibly pure tenor voice was big, velvety and expansive, with an instantly recognizable tone.

Cooke's delivery encompassed a wide range of emotions including playful expressiveness to interact with listeners, mellow somberness as a form of reflection, and (in "A Change Is Gonna Come") profound soulfulness.

When performing live, he would often play with notes and scales and experiment with melodies and his enunciation, while improvising entire songs.

Cooke's vocal exploits would go on to influence many acts like Otis Redding, James Brown, Rod Stewart, Johnny Nash, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, Mick Jagger, Al Green, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye, Steve Perry, and Stevie Wonder among many others.

[46] In November 1958, Cooke was involved in a car accident en route from St. Louis to Greenville, Mississippi.

His chauffeur Edward Cunningham was killed, while Cooke, guitarist Cliff White, and singer Lou Rawls were hospitalized.

[46] Cooke was a central part of the civil rights movement, using his influence and popularity with the White and Black populations to fight for the cause.

Cooke was friends with boxer Muhammad Ali, activist Malcolm X and football player Jim Brown, who together campaigned for racial equality.

Answering separate reports of a shooting and a kidnapping at the motel, police found Cooke's body.

[58] The police record states that Franklin fatally shot Cooke, who had checked in earlier that evening.

According to Franklin, Cooke exclaimed, "Lady, you shot me", in a tone that expressed perplexity rather than anger, before advancing on her again.

Boyer said that after they left a local nightclub together, she had repeatedly requested that he take her home, but it appeared Cooke was intoxicated and drove her against her will to a place to have sex.

Cooke ended up at the Hacienda Motel, a black-owned business in south central Los Angeles.

"[74] Singer Etta James viewed Cooke's body before his funeral and questioned the accuracy of the official version of events.

James wrote that Cooke was so badly beaten that his head was nearly separated from his shoulders, his hands were broken and crushed, and his nose mangled.

The B-side, "A Change Is Gonna Come", is considered a classic protest song from the era of the civil rights movement.

[81] Barbara Womack countersued Franklin on behalf of the estate, seeking $7,000 (equivalent to $68,000 in 2023) in damages to cover Cooke's funeral expenses.

[82][83][32] Cooke's contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Billy Preston, and popularized the work of Otis Redding and James Brown.

[84][85][86] AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was "the inventor of soul music", and possessed "an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed.

In the 2020 film adaptation, he is played by Leslie Odom Jr., who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal.