Cooke (1931-64) was an enormously influential R&B singer & songwriter and a civil rights activist. He had a huge impact on a generation of singers from Aretha Franklin to Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, etc.
All Music biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was "the inventor of soul music", and possessed "an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed".
Biographical articles: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sam-cooke-mn0000238115/biography
https://www.history-of-rock.com/cooke.htm
Biographical films:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6crxPUfRAg8
Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1MtkeLcqMxK7Cl1ggoLFg
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6hnWRPzGGKiapVX1UCdEAC
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0177492/