'I feel his spirit': Carla Cooke performs songs of father Sam Cooke + 7 other top concerts to see

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Carla Cooke started her musical career later in life and her West Yarmouth concert this week will be her first time ever on Cape Cod. Her show will celebrate the music from decades ago of her father, renowned singer Sam Cooke. Read on to learn her story.

And here's a look at a few other top shows coming to local stages this week:

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason will stop his “World in Changes” tour in North Truro for a 7 p.m. concert Tuesday, July 5 at Payomet Performing Arts Center, 29 Old Dewline Road, North Truro. The tour celebrates Mason’s 60+ years on the road and features a mix of longtime and new band members. This set list is due to include “Mason’s most loved and iconic songs as well as deep tracks and a few surprises.” $38-$75; https://payomet.org/.

The Wailers will perform July 1 at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis.
The Wailers will perform July 1 at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis.

► The Cape Cod Melody Tent on West Main St., Hyannis will be rocking every night this weekend with three back-to-back shows. At 8 p.m. Friday, it’s the Wailers, led by Aston Barrett Jr., playing music from Bob Marley’s back catalog as well as the group’s 2020 “One World, One Prayer” album. At 8 p.m. Saturday, Yacht Rock Revue takes the revolving stage with its tribute show of soft rock hits from the 1970s and 1980s. At 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the show will be “An Evening with Dark Star Orchestra — Celebrating the Grateful Dead Concert Experience.” Information on all: https://melodytent.org/.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 3 at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center, 100 Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs. The show, part of the Martha’s Vineyard Concert Series, will feature music from the group’s 2019 album “A Tuba to Cuba” that was also featured in a documentary; https://www.mvconcertseries.com/.

For more concerts: https://www.capecodtimes.com/calendar.

Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll

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Carla Cooke pays tribute to her father

The old saying about the apple not falling far from the tree couldn’t be truer for Carla Cooke, daughter of legendary soul singer Sam Cooke. She has followed in the footsteps of her father and is continuing his legacy while also writing her own material.

Cooke will bring her “Evening with Sam Cooke” show to the Music Room on Tuesday, July 5, for her first Cape Cod performance, and she’s hoping to make the show a memorable one.

“It’s so amazing how my father’s music today resonates in the hearts of so many people across the world,” Cooke says. “I’m just delighted that I have the opportunity to do this. I really enjoy it.”

Carla Cooke, the daughter of well-known singer Sam Cooke, will perform a concert in West Yarmouth that pays tribute to her father's music and other singers who have inspired her.
Carla Cooke, the daughter of well-known singer Sam Cooke, will perform a concert in West Yarmouth that pays tribute to her father's music and other singers who have inspired her.

A natural singer

Much like her father, Cooke started singing at an early age around a church environment. She recalls stories her mother told her about how, as a child, she’d get out of bed every morning and sing, to the bewilderment of their neighbors wondering why. Her singing continued through church choir and she was eventually noticed after performing Denise Richards’ “God is Truly Amazing” and asked if she’d like to perform at a concert of her own.

“I was really shy. I was like ‘You want me to do a concert?’” says Cooke, who agreed to the offer. “I quickly gathered up two of my girlfriends in the choir with me so they could do the concert with me. I didn’t want to do it by myself.”

Cooke’s singing career didn’t take off immediately from there — but that was her choice. She continued to perform at church and at private parties until her late 20s. She also recorded an album. Touring was not in the cards for her at the time, however. She instead decided to focus on the family she was building, eventually having seven children.

“I had opportunities, like to sign a record contract, but I didn’t want to do it because I didn’t want to leave my kids,” she says. “I wanted them to have a father and a mother growing up in the home because I didn’t have that.”

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It was when Cooke turned 50 in 2016, with her children grown, that she felt the pull to go back to her music roots.

“I was like ‘Hey Lord, I’m ready, God. Please make it possible, make a way for me,’” she says.

That opportunity came in the form of a phone call asking if she’d like to do a concert with two daughters of other music legends – Ray Charles and Diana Ross.

Since then, Cooke hasn’t been shy at all about making the most of the talent passed down to her from her father, performing a steady stream of shows by land and by sea – she’s scheduled to be featured on the upcoming “Soul Train” Cruise.

“They said it’s never too late, so I took that to heart,” she says.

A legacy that lasts

Often referred to as the “King of Soul,” Sam Cooke found fame starting in the 1950s writing and/or performing dozens of songs that charted on Billboard, including “Twistin’ The Night Away,” “Bring It On Home To Me,” and “Wonderful World.” His life and career were cut short when he was killed in December 1964, after which his “A Change Is Gonna Come” became an anthem for the civil rights movement.

Carla, who was born in August 1964, says the music her father left behind has helped her connect with him.

“I got to know my father through his music,” Cooke says. “I didn’t really get to have that father-daughter relationship with him, and I really grew closer to him as I was growing up by listening to his music and hearing different stories from different people: my mom, his brother, other people in the business. It was not until I got older that I really realized the magnitude (of the effect) of his music on the music industry and the world.”

A composite photo showing singer Carla Cooke and the father who died a few months after her birth, groundbreaking singer Sam Cooke.
A composite photo showing singer Carla Cooke and the father who died a few months after her birth, groundbreaking singer Sam Cooke.

Cooke recalls a time after she recorded her first album when she was in a club in New York and was taken aback by an encounter she had.

“Cuba Gooding Sr. was there and when he saw me, he got down on his knees and kissed my hands,” she says. “He was saying ‘I loved your father.’ So, I’m like, oh, wow, he touched so many people in so many profound ways.”

Sam Cooke’s music continues to be listened to today, and Carla Cooke points to the relevancy of her father’s music – particularly a song like “A Change Is Gonna Come” — as a reason for its strong appeal and connection with listeners all these years later.

“My father wrote music from what he heard people talking about or what he felt was going on with the times, and it seems like pretty much all of that is still going on today,” she says. “He was a great storyteller.”

All in the family

Cooke promises to put together a performance at the Music Room that will continue the tradition her father started of bringing people together with one-of-a-kind melodies. On top of showcasing her father’s songs, during the second half of the show, she’ll also be performing music by women whom she says have inspired her, including Whitney Houston and Etta James.

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Cooke has also passed down the family singing talent to two of her daughters, who have previously supplied backing vocals at her shows. Cooke’s daughter Shantel Hampton is a rising artist who has recorded her own album.

A new album for Cooke is in the works, too, she notes, and “should be coming out soon.”

Although Sam Cooke died nearly 60 years ago, his music continues to fill venues thanks to daughter Carla’s dedication to it. “I feel his spirit when I’m on the stage,” she says. “It’s like he’s with me while I’m doing the music.”

How to see Carla Cooke’s “Evening with Sam Cooke”

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday

Where: The Music Room, 541 Main St., West Yarmouth

Tickets: $35-$75

Reservations: https://musicroomcapecodtickets.com/events/carla-cooke-07052022/

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Sam Cooke daughter Carla to perform father's songs, other concerts