Dream Boogie

Peter Guralnick · first published 2005 · ISBN 9780316013291

Guralnick's biography of Sam Cooke traces the gospel prodigy's arc from choirboy to secular superstar to civil rights advocate to entrepreneur. The book covers Cooke's creative peak with Keen and RCA Records, his songwriting genius that influenced everyone from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin, and the tragic circumstances of his death at thirty-three. Guralnick shows how Cooke's business instincts made him a threat to the machinery of the music industry.