Soul Singer Sam Cooke Biopic In The Works

For years now we’ve been hearing artists cover original and inspiring tunes from the soul man and legendary man himself Sam Cooke. Now it looks like we may get a few music lessons of our own, as a biopic about the legendary soul man is now coming to a movie theater near you.

The Sam Cooke biopic has been in development for quite some time, and while we don’t have our Sam Cooke yet, we do have some movement on the project. A few years ago the Sam Cooke biopic was announced with writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (Across The Universe) taking the helm.

Reports are coming through from Shadow & Act that the ball is now running for the Sam Cooke biopic with director Carl Franklin (House of Cards) to direct the film. The biopic is said to be based on the book “Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke” by Pete Guralnick. As some of you may know Cooke is best known for creating songs like “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “Chain Gang,” and “You Send Me.”

The Sam Cooke biopic has also found their producers in Mark Viardi, Gordon Gray, and Jody Klein. While some biopics only focus on the music aspect, and some go in the other direction to focus on the personal life of an artist, this will focus on both sides of Cooke’s life — his music and his personal triumphs and tribulations.

The official synopsis reads as follows:
“This is the true story of the legendary singer/songwriter Sam Cooke, who started out as a Gospel singer and horrified his fellow musicians when he crossed over into pop music. Enormously successful, Sam was less happy in his personal life, since his relentless womanizing and touring schedule alienated his troubled wife Barbara, in a marriage that went into a downward spiral after the tragic death of their baby son.”

Like some soul singers, even though Cooke had a career of hits, his life was ended short after he was shot at the young age of 33-years-old by a hotel manager. The case itself is still considered to be a controversial circumstance.

Although things are still in the very early stages, we can’t help but to think who will make a good Sam Cooke. Any thoughts?

Check out Sam Cooke singing his original song “A Is Change Gonna Come.”