Celebrity Death of the Day
Sam Cooke (1931-1964)
Considered one of the pioneers of soul, Sam Cooke’s life was cut short in mysterious and violent circumstances.
Staying in a Californian motel, Cooke burst into the manager’s office demanding to know the whereabouts of his female companion. According to the manager, an enraged Cooke was wearing only a sports jacket and began to threaten and attack her. She shot him to death in self defence. Many believe that his hotel companion had been a prostitute who had stolen his money – whilst she always maintained she had fled Cooke in fear of rape.
However, family and supporters of Cooke have long held that there was a conspiracy to murder Cooke and deny the official version of events. Controversy was further fuelled when singer Etta James claimed that she viewed Cooke’s body in the funeral home and claimed he had been so badly beaten that his hands were crushed, his nose mangled and his head nearly removed from his body.
