Editing Sam Cooke (section)

== Early life ==
<!-- Listing birth name as Samuel Cook for consistency with the previous reference, although Guralick's book Dream Boogie gives his name as Samuel Cook -->
Sam Cooke was born Samuel Cook in [[Clarksdale, Mississippi]], in 1931 (he added the "e" to his last name in 1957 to signify a new start to his life).<ref name="Guralnick">{{Cite book |last=Guralnick |first=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/dreamboogietrium00gura/page/9 |title=Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=2005 |isbn=0-316-37794-5 |author-link=Peter Guralnick |ref=none}}</ref><ref>Note: His headstone gives his birth year as 1930.</ref> He was the fifth of eight children of Rev. Charles Cook, a [[Baptist]] minister in the [[Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.|Church of Christ (Holiness)]], and the former Annie Mae Carroll. One of his younger brothers, L.C. (1932–2017),<ref name="L.C. Cooke obi">{{cite web |url=https://www.abkco.com/news-feed/l-c-cooke-december-14-1932-july-21-2017/|title=L.C. Cooke December 14, 1932 – July 21, 2017|date=July 21, 2017|accessdate=June 22, 2022|website=abkco.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Sam |url=https://officialsamcooke.com |website=Official Sam Cooke }}</ref> later became a member of the [[doo-wop]] band [[Johnny Keyes and the Magnificents]].{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=9–10, 17}} Cooke was raised [[Baptist]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Ken |title=Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/dream-boogie-the-triumph-of-sam-cooke-20060306-gdn3hd.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811212939/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/dream-boogie-the-triumph-of-sam-cooke-20060306-gdn3hd.html |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |date=March 6, 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Cooke's family moved to [[Chicago]] in 1933.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=10}} There, he attended Doolittle Elementary and [[Wendell Phillips Academy High School]],{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=15, 22}} the same school that [[Nat King Cole]] had attended a few years earlier. Cooke sang in the choir of his father's church and began his career with his siblings in a group called the Singing Children when he was six years old.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=13–14}} Cooke first became known as lead singer with [[the Highway Q.C.'s]] when he was a teenager, having joined the group at the age of 14.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|pp=29–31}} During this time, Cooke befriended fellow gospel singer and neighbor [[Lou Rawls]], who sang in a rival gospel group.{{sfn|Guralnick|2005|p=90}}