ENCORE: The Life and Death of Sam Cooke

Singing his way through the 1950s and early 1960s, appealing to audiences across a segregated music industry, churning out hits of dreamy quality like “You Send Me” and inspirational fortitude like “A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke was more than an artist. He lived – and died – a legend. So how did he end up shot in a Los Angeles motel in 1964? In this episode, we’ll trace the tale: start to finish.

You can listen to ENCORE: The Life and Death of Sam Cooke online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

ENCORE: The Life and Death of Sam Cooke is an episode from Crimes of the Centuries.

This episode is 39:04 long.

This episode was published on Mar 30, 2026.

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