Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By

The death of Sam Cooke

The singer and songwriter Sam Cooke (b January 22, 1931) was shot and killed on December 11, 1964, at the Hacienda Motel at 91st and South Figueroa streets in South Central Los Angeles. Answering separate reports of a shooting and a kidnapping at the motel, police found Cooke's body. He had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest, which was later determined to have pierced his heart.

The motel's manager, Bertha Franklin, said she shot Cooke in self-defence. Her account was immediately disputed by Cooke's acquaintances. The motel's owner, Evelyn Carr, said that she had been on the telephone with Franklin at the time of the incident. Carr said she overheard Cooke's intrusion and the ensuing conflict and gunshot, and called the police.

The police record states that Franklin fatally shot Cooke, who had checked in earlier that evening. Franklin said Cooke had banged on the door of her office, shouting "Where's the girl?!", in reference to Elisa Boyer, a woman who had accompanied Cooke to the motel, and who had called the police that night from a telephone booth near the motel minutes before Carr had.

Franklin shouted back that there was no one in her office except herself, but an enraged Cooke did not believe her and forced his way into the office, naked except for one shoe and a sport jacket. He grabbed her, demanding again to know the woman's whereabouts. According to Franklin, she grappled with Cooke, the two of them fell to the floor, and she then got up and ran to retrieve a gun. Franklin said that she then fired at Cooke in self-defencce because she feared for her life. He was struck once in the torso. According to Franklin, Cooke exclaimed, "Lady, you shot me", in a tone that expressed perplexity rather than anger, before advancing on her again. Franklin said she hit him on the head with a broomstick before Cooke finally fell to the floor and died. A coroner's inquest was convened to investigate the incident.

Boyer told the police that she had first met Cooke earlier that night and had spent the evening in his company. Boyer said that after they left a local nightclub together, she had repeatedly requested that he take her home, but it appeared Cooke was intoxicated and drove her against her will to a place to have sex. As they sped down Harbor Freeway, Boyer noted they had passed a number of hotels and motor courts.

Cooke ended up at the Hacienda Motel, a black-owned business in south central LA. Boyer noted Cooke's familiarity with the layout as if he had been a repeat customer. She said that once in one of the motel's rooms, Cooke physically forced her onto the bed, and then stripped Boyer to her panties. She said she was sure he was going to rape her. Cooke allowed her to use the bathroom, from which she attempted an escape but found that the window was firmly shut. According to Boyer, she returned to the main room, where Cooke continued to molest her. When he went to use the bathroom, Boyer quickly grabbed her clothes and ran from the room. She said that in her haste, she had also scooped up most of Cooke's clothing by mistake.

Boyer said she ran first to the manager's office and knocked on the door seeking help. However, she said that the manager took too long to respond, so, fearing Cooke would soon be coming after her, she fled from the motel before the manager opened the door. Boyer said she then put her clothes back on, hid Cooke's clothing, went to a telephone booth, and called the police.

Boyer's account is the only one that exists of what happened between her and Cooke that night, and it has long been called into question due to inconsistencies between her version of events and details reported by diners at Martoni's Restaurant, where Cooke dined and drank earlier in the evening.

According to restaurant employees and friends, Cooke was carrying a large amount of money at Martoni's. However, a search of Boyer's purse by police revealed nothing except a $20 bill, and a search of Cooke's Ferrari found only a money clip with $108, as well as a few loose coins near the ashtray.

As Carr's testimony corroborated Franklin's version of events, and because both Boyer and Franklin later passed polygraph tests, the coroner's jury ultimately accepted Franklin's explanation and returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. With that verdict, authorities officially closed the case on Cooke's death.

However, some of Cooke's family and supporters have rejected Boyer's version of events, as well as those given by Franklin and Carr. They believe that the killing took place in some manner entirely different from the three official accounts.

On the perceived lack of an investigation, Cooke's close friend Muhammad Ali said: "If Cooke had been Frank Sinatra, the Beatles or Ricky Nelson, the FBI would be investigating."

Singer Etta James viewed Cooke's body before his funeral and questioned the accuracy of the official version of events. She wrote that the injuries she observed were well beyond the official account of Cooke having fought Franklin alone. James wrote that Cooke was so badly beaten that his head was nearly separated from his shoulders, his hands were broken and crushed, and his nose mangled.

Some have speculated that Cooke's manager, Allen Klein, had a role in his death. Klein owned Tracey Ltd, which ultimately owned all rights to Cooke's recordings. However, no concrete evidence supporting a criminal conspiracy has been presented.

The first funeral service for Cooke was held on December 18, 1964, at A R Leak Funeral Home in Chicago; 200,000 fans lined up for more than four city blocks to view his body.

Afterward, Cooke's body was flown back to LA for a second service, at the Mount Sinai Baptist Church on December 19, which included a much-heralded performance of "The Angels Keep Watching Over Me" by Ray Charles, who stood in for a grief-stricken Bessie Griffin. Cooke was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Two singles and an album were released in the month after Cooke's death. One of the singles, "Shake", reached the top ten of both the pop and R&B charts. The B-side, "A Change Is Gonna Come", is considered a classic protest song from the era. It was a Top 40 pop hit and a top 10 R&B hit. The album, also titled Shake, reached the number one spot for R&B albums.

Bertha Franklin said that she received numerous death threats after shooting Cooke. She left her position at the Hacienda Motel and did not publicly disclose where she had moved. After being cleared by the coroner's jury, she sued Cooke's estate, citing physical injuries and mental anguish suffered as a result of Cooke's attack. Franklin's lawsuit sought $200,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.

Barbara Womack countersued Franklin on behalf of the estate, seeking $7,000 in damages to cover Cooke's funeral expenses. Elisa Boyer provided testimony in support of Franklin in the case. In 1967, a jury ruled in favour of Franklin on both counts, awarding her $30,000 in damages.

Top 10 songs of 1964

Dusty Springfield - House of the Rising Sun BBC Radio 1964

Oh Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison

"Oh, Pretty Woman" or simply "Pretty Woman" is a song recorded by Roy Orbison, written by Orbison and Bill Dees, released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records. It spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, the second and final single by Orbison to top the US charts and the third single to top the UK Singles Chart (for a total of three weeks).

The single version (in mono) and the LP version (in stereo on the Orbisongs LP) have slightly differing lyrics. The LP version with the intended lyric: "come with me baby" was changed for the single to "come to me baby" as the former was considered too risque. The record ultimately sold 7 million copies and marked the high point in Orbison's career. Within months of its release, the single was certified gold by the RIAA. At the year's end, Billboard ranked it the number four song of 1964.

The title was inspired by Orbison's wife, Claudette, interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out. When Orbison asked if she had enough cash, his co-writer Bill Dees interjected, "A pretty woman never needs any money."

Orbison's recording of the song was produced by Fred Foster on August 1, 1964. There were four guitar players at the session: Roy Orbison, Billy Sanford, Jerry Kennedy, and Wayne Moss. Sanford, who later played on sessions for Elvis Presley, Don Williams, etc, played the intro guitar. Other musicians on the record included Floyd Cramer (piano), Henry Strzelecki (upright bass), Boots Randolph and Charlie McCoy (saxophones), Buddy Harman (drums) Paul Garrison (percussion). Co-writer Dees sung high harmony, as he did on many Orbison songs. Bill Porter served as recording engineer. Billboard described the song as having a "great dance beat coupled with fine arrangement." Cash Box described it as "a catchy, quick-beat salute with a number of ear-catching rockin' ingredients."

A music video was filmed on October 19, 1964, in the rooftop garden of London's Kensington-based Derry and Toms department store, to air on Top of the Pops on October 22 as a visual accompaniment to Orbison's song as he was unable to attend the live taping. It subsequently aired on October 29, November 12, and November 19. It was directed by Stanley Dorfman.

First Top of the Pops Performances Featured

 

First Top of the Pops

At 6.35 pm on January 1 the premiere of the half hour British TV programme Top of the Pops was shown for the first time. Acts performing included (in order of appearance) Dusty Springfield (I only wanna be with you); The Rolling Stones (I wanna be your man); Dave Clark Five (glad all over); The Hollies (Stay); Swinging Blue Jeans (Hippy hippy shake) and The Beatles (I wanna hold your hand, that week's number one). The programme continued until July 30 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC 1. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984. The first programme was produced in Studio A at Dickenson Road Studios in Rusholme, Manchester. The presenter was the late and now disgraced Jimmy Savile, with a brief link to Alan Freeman in London to preview the following week's programme. The tape was wiped. Throughout its history, the programme proper always (with very few exceptions) finished with the best-selling single of the week, although there often was a separate play-out track over the end credits.

US Number Ones

December 7, 1963 – January 3, 1964:

The Singing Nun – Dominique

January 4, 1964 – January 31, 1964:

Bobby Vinton – There! I’ve Said It Again

February 1, 1964 – March 20, 1964:

The Beatles – I Want to Hold Your Hand

March 21, 1964 – April 3, 1964:

The Beatles – She Loves You

April 4, 1964 – May 8, 1964:

The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love

May 9, 1964 – May 15, 1964:

Louis Armstrong – Hello, Dolly!

May 16, 1964 – May 29, 1964:

Mary Wells – My Guy

May 30, 1964 – June 5, 1964:

The Beatles – Love Me Do

June 6, 1964 – June 26, 1964:

The Dixie Cups – Chapel of Love

June 27, 1964 – July 3, 1964:

Peter and Gordon – A World Without Love

July 4, 1964 – July 17, 1964:

The Beach Boys – I Get Around

July 18, 1964 – July 31, 1964:

The Four Seasons – Rag Doll

August 1, 1964 – August 14, 1964:

The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

August 15, 1964 – August 21, 1964:

Dean Martin – Everybody Loves Somebody

August 22, 1964 – September 4, 1964:

The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go

September 5, 1964 – September 25, 1964:

The Animals – The House of the Rising Sun

September 26, 1964 – October 16, 1964:

Roy Orbison – Oh, Pretty Woman

October 17, 1964 – October 30, 1964:

Manfred Mann – Do Wah Diddy Diddy

October 31, 1964 – November 27, 1964:

The Supremes – Baby Love

November 28, 1964 – December 4, 1964:

The Shangri-Las – Leader of the Pack

December 5, 1964 – December 11, 1964:

Lorne Greene – Ringo

December 12, 1964 – December 18, 1964:

Bobby Vinton – Mr. Lonely

December 19, 1964 – December 25, 1964:

The Supremes – Come See About Me

December 26, 1964 – January 22, 1965:

The Beatles – I Feel Fine

UK Number Ones

 

Artist	Song Title	Weeks at Number One	Date
The Beatles	I Feel Fine	5	08-12-1964
The Rolling Stones	Little Red Rooster	1	01-12-1964
The Supremes	Baby Love	2	17-11-1964
Roy Orbison	Oh Pretty Woman (2nd time)	1	10-11-1964
Sandie Shaw	Always Something There To Remind Me	3	20-10-1964
Roy Orbison	Oh Pretty Woman	2	06-10-1964
Hermans Hermits	Im Into Something Good	2	22-09-1964
The Kinks	You Really Got Me	2	08-09-1964
The Honeycombs	Have I The Right	2	25-08-1964
Manfred Mann	Do Wah Diddy Diddy	2	11-08-1964
The Beatles	A Hard Days Night	3	21-07-1964
The Rolling Stones	Its All Over Now	1	14-07-1964
The Animals	House Of The Rising Sun	1	07-07-1964
Roy Orbison	Its Over	2	23-06-1964
Cilla Black	Youre My World	4	26-05-1964
The Four Pennies	Juliet	1	19-05-1964
The Searchers	Dont Throw Your Love Away	2	05-05-1964
Peter and Gordon	World Without Love	2	21-04-1964
The Beatles	Cant Buy Me Love	3	31-03-1964
Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas	Little Children	2	17-03-1964
Cilla Black	Anyone Who Had A Heart	3	25-02-1964
The Bachelors	Diane	1	18-02-1964
The Searchers	Needles and Pins	3	28-01-1964
The Dave Clark 5	Glad All Over	2	14-01-1964

Anti-war Songs

In 1964 there were many anti-wr songs including
"There but for Fortune" "One More Parade" and "Talkin' Vietnam" by American Phil Ochs
"Universal Soldier" and "Now That The Buffalo's Gone" by Canadian Buffy Sainte-Marie
"With God on Our Side" by Bob Dylan
"Apache Tears" and "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" by Johnny Cash
"What Did You Learn in School Today?" by American Tom Paxton