This week will mark over 50 years since the death of Sam Cooke, and over 40 years since the death of Otis Redding. It’s hard to find people who remeber the men, but everyone remembers the music. Sam Cooke exploded on the charts with “You Send Me”, a mega hit he wrote. Although he had many more hits, none of them ever rose to the level of “You Send Me”.
Otis Redding will always be associated with “Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay”. The first song to go #1 after the artist had died.
Sam was a gospel star who decided to try his hand at R & B. He found sucess and trouble. The circumstances surrounding his death still spark debates.
The fact is, he was shot dead by a motel manager at 3am. Sam had rented a room with a woman and they got into an argument. The woman stormed out of the hotel room and Sam thought she went to the office. He pushed his way into the motel office where he was shot by the manager.
Otis died in a plane crash with the original Bar Kays.
