Random Rising Soul Singer Sam Cooke Perished Under Mysterious Circumstances In 1964 And Case Is Still Unsolved (16 items)

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  (#13) Cooke Was Not Discreet About The Cash He Had On Hand The Night He Perished

  As a rapidly rising start on the verge of becoming more successful, Cooke was in a good financial position. Dressed in a perfectly tailored suit from Sy Devore, and mimicking stars like Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, Cooke looked the part of a stylish entertainment heavyweight. Witnesses claimed he carried a lot of cash with him the night he met Boyer, and was very liberal with his spending. He bought dinner for his friends the Schmitts, despite not eating with them.

  Police discovered that most of Cooke's cash was gone when they arrived at the Hacienda Motel. Although he most likely bought drinks at the club and, according to motel owner Franklin, paid for a room in cash, he only had $108 in his pocket when he perished.

  Since Cooke's wallet and credit cards were also missing, theories emerged that robbers were responsible to taking his life, likely as a result of his liberal spending while out with Boyer. 
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  (#12) Boyer Was Later Detained For Solicitation And Was Convicted Of Taking Her Boyfriend's Life

  About a month after Cooke passed, police detained Boyer in Hollywood and charged her with solicitation. According to the report, she solicited an undercover officer over the phone by requesting $40 to have relations with him, and was then apprehended when she showed up at the hotel for the encounter.

  When Boyer's boyfriend perished in 1979, she was accused of taking his life. The case went to trial and she was convicted after a jury found her guilty.
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  (#15) Barbara Cooke, Sam’s Wife, Married His Back-Up Singer Two Months After He Perished

  Although losing her husband was difficult, Barbara Cooke was not surprised he was with another woman. Cooke had a reputation as a womanizer, according to songwriter Bumps Blackwell. The Cookes reportedly had trouble with their marriage, although Barbara claimed she would have helped her husband out of the situation if she could, saying, "Had he called me and told me he was in a hotel without any clothes - to bring him something to wear... I'm his wife. No matter how it might sound, I would have done that."

  Despite her allegiance, she attended Cooke's service with a bartender she had been dating, and the man arrived wearing Cooke's ring and watch. That relationship didn't last long, and Barbara soon began dating Bobby Womack, who was Cooke's backup singer and friend. Womack and Barbara married two months after Cooke perished.
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  (#9) Cooke’s Case Was Closed And No One Was Ever Held Responsible

  Police gave both Boyer and Franklin lie detector tests, and both of them passed. Cooke had a blood alcohol level of 0.16 at the time of his demise - double the amount for legal intoxication. Cooke's money and credit cards were missing and Boyer didn't have them. Since DNA testing was still a long way off, authorities completed no physical exams on Boyer to look for evidence of what took place. Franklin testified that she fired at Cooke in an act of self-defense, and since there wasn't much to refute her claim, a jury found her account credible.

  To some witnesses at the inquisition, the proceedings seemed stacked in Franklin's favor. Cooke's lawyer was only allowed to ask Boyer and Franklin a limited number of questions, and their testimonies were short. Some of the attorney's questions were even denied, including his query into what Boyer did for a living. "We are not concerned with the occupation of the girl," the prosecutor replied. Boyer was later detained for solicitation.

  It took a jury only 15 minutes to come to a verdict, ruling that Franklin's actions were justified for the "protection of life, limb, and property."
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  (#4) Cooke Allegedly Left Boyer Alone In The Room, Though She Says He Planned To Take Advantage Of Her

  According to Boyer, things turned ugly when she and Cooke entered the room. "I started talking very loudly: 'Please, take me home,'" Boyer claimed. "He pinned me on the bed. He kept saying, 'We're just going to talk...' He pulled my sweater off and ripped my dress... I knew he was going to [hurt] me."

  One version of Boyer's story suggests she tried to escape the room after Cooke allegedly pinned her to the bed, but she couldn't open the window since it had been painted shut. She was allegedly unable to hide in the bathroom since the lock didn't work. Boyer told police that Cooke went into the bathroom at some point, and she took the opportunity to run away.

  Grabbing clothing as quickly as she could, Boyer picked up a few pieces of Cooke's clothing, as well. She then claimed she ran to the motel manager's office in an attempt to get help, but no one answered when she knocked on the door. Afraid Cooke might come after her, Boyer said she ran away from the motel in her slip and then called the police from a payphone at 3:08 am. She told them, "Will you please come down to this number. I don't know where I am. I'm kidnapped."
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  (#16) Cooke’s 'A Change Is Gonna Come' Was Released Posthumously And Became A Civil Rights Anthem

  Cooke began his career as a gospel singer before he became involved with pop music. Until he wrote "A Change Is Gonna Come," he often kept social politics out of his songs. As he became more involved in the civil rights movement, Cooke felt the power of songs like Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and wanted to write something that could inspire change. After he was turned away from a Louisiana venue in 1963 because of his race, Cooke could stay quiet no longer.

  About a month later he wrote "A Change Is Gonna Come," and released the song in February 1964 on Ain't That Good News. Cooke only played the song live once, and didn't release it as one of the first singles, so audiences didn't immediately take notice. It came out as a single after Cooke passed, and was soon embraced as an anthem of the civil rights movement.

  "We all feel in some way or another that a change is gonna come, and he found that lyric," biographer Peter Guralnick said. "And that makes it almost endlessly adaptable to whatever goal, whatever movement is of the moment."

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