Editing Sam Cooke (section)

== Vocal ability ==
Cooke is widely considered one of the greatest singers and most accomplished vocalists of all time. His incredibly pure tenor voice was big, velvety and expansive, with an instantly recognizable tone. Cooke's pitch was remarkable, and his manner of singing was effortlessly soulful. Cooke could go as high as high C without losing purity or volume, and his upper mid-range was coated in a unique rasp. Cooke's vocal style was very adaptable, adopting a rather classical sound on jazz and pop songs while maintaining his trademark stylistic soulful hold on R&B, gospel and soul music.

Cooke's delivery encompassed a wide range of emotions including playful expressiveness to interact with listeners, mellow somberness as a form of reflection, and (in "[[A Change Is Gonna Come]]") profound soulfulness. When performing live, he would often play with notes and scales and experiment with melodies and his enunciation, while improvising entire songs. Cooke also began to perform highly charged versions of his songs later in his career.

Cooke's vocal exploits would go on to influence many acts like [[Otis Redding]], [[James Brown]], [[Rod Stewart]], [[Johnny Nash]], [[Tina Turner]], [[Wilson Pickett]], [[Mick Jagger]], [[Al Green]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[Diana Ross]], [[Marvin Gaye]], [[Steve Perry]], and [[Stevie Wonder]] among many others.