Ahead Quote by Dennis Edwards

I always loved Sam Cooke, because he seemed very versatile. He sang gospel, soul, blues, pop music

— Aaron Neville

Sam Cooke had a huge influence on me. He left the gospel field at one point and went into the secular, and he had…

— Aretha Franklin

People like Sam Cooke, maybe you get turned on to first, and then all of a sudden you realize that there are all these…

— Susan Tedeschi

My dad sung and played piano. But he was also a man of God. He was a minister. So when Sam Cooke would come…

— Merry Clayton

People like Clyde McPhatter who came out of the black churches - like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin - were all church singers who…

— Ahmet Ertegun

I would have to say Sam Cooke is the one I admired most. His artistry and vocal, just the way he did it.

— Leon Russell

Some of my influences are black gospel artists so I definitely want to do a soul-gospel type thing.

— Jonny Lang

Oh boy, I grew up hearing Sam Cooke, The Soul Stirrers, Mahalia Jackson, sitting on Mahalia Jackson's lap in my dad's church.

— Merry Clayton

Johnny Mercer started Capitol Records, and he brought in Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Nat King Cole. He just let them sing whatever they wanted,…

— Tony Bennett

Like all soul singers, I grew up singing in church but sometimes I would leave early and sit in the car listening to gospel…

— Daryl Hall

As far as I'm concerned, I'm now in the business of making spiritual records and using my voice for that purpose. I'm not going…

— Sinead O'Connor

The thing is, I was more blues-oriented, more of a purist than in the pop world. That led me into a folk rock trio…

— Denny Laine