Sam Cooke walked away from gospel stardom with the Soul Stirrers to chase the pop charts, and in 'You Send Me' (1957) he found a sound so effortlessly smooth it invented soul music almost by accident. He spent the years after as a shrewd businessman as much as a singer, founding his own label and publishing company at a time when few Black artists controlled their own masters. His posthumously released 'A Change Is Gonna Come,' written in response to the civil rights struggle, became an anthem that outlived the bullet that killed him in 1964.

the sound in question

1964

A Change Is Gonna ComeSam Cooke