In one respect, however, he embodied a classic r&b theme to the extent that it cost him his life. The tension between living sublimely in the Lord’s grace and giving rein to unbridled libido played itself out to a tawdry and tragic end.
He was born in 1931 to Charles and Annie May Cook in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His father was a preacher in a Holiness sect. The family moved to Chicago in the mid-30s. By the time Sam was a teenager, he was singing in a gospel group called The Highway QCs. During this time, he met J.W. Alexander of the established and highly popular Pilgrim Travelers. Alexander became his mentor and a source of reassurance to the elder Cooks, who saw Sam’s career taking off. When Sam was nineteen, he joined one of the nation’s most famous black gospel groups, The Soul Stirrers. He replaced the Stirrers’ previous lead singer, R.H. Harris, a move that left many wondering how he would be received. It only took the first few records on Art Rupe’s Specialty label and the first few public appearances to remove all doubt in the gospel world. Sam Cook was that world’s new superstar.
The young sensation had already begun to complicate his personal life by this time. He had two out-of-wedlock children, each by a different woman, and he’d married yet another woman. His new wife called herself Dee Dee Mowhawk. She had a five-year-old son from a previous affair and had spent much of her life running from a turbulent childhood. The new couple settled into a Chicago apartment, and then Sam hit the road again with The Soul Stirrers. Dee Dee didn’t see him for long stretches of time, and she knew that girls were throwing themselves at him in the churches and auditoriums in which he sang.
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