Sam Cooke was the son of a Chicago Baptist minister who had moved his family from Clarksdale, Mississippi for greater opportunity and freedom. From an early age, Sam knew he wanted to be a singer, and began first in his father's church choir, before progressing to The Highway QC's and finally The Soul Stirrers, on the Specialty Records label, considered one of the most popular gospel groups of its time. Gifted by both a hot buttery voice and equally handsome countenance, Cooke found himsel...