Sam Cooke is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. For 14 years Sam sanctified and glorified his gospel heritage and forged new paths by being the first black artist to establish his own record company (SAR) where he helped such gospel oriented artists as the Womack Brothers (Bobby, Cecil, Friendly Jr., Curtis and Harry) who later became the Valentinos, R.H. Harris & His Gospel Paraders, The Simms Twins, Johnnie Morisette, Johnnie Taylor and Billy Preston, as well as giving continued expression to the Soul Stirrers. Today, many years after he began his writing and recording career, Sam’s music endures with cover recordings by artists from all genres of the recording industry such as Aretha, Bryan Adams, Gerald Alston, The Animals, Arcade Fire, The Band, Billy Bragg, Solomon Burke, Jimmy Buffet, Eric Clapton, Shemekia Copeland, Jim Croce, Terrence Trent D’Arby, Gavin DeGraw, Bob Dylan, The Fugees, Art Garfunkel, Al Green, Leela James, Jon Bon Jovi, R. Kelly, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Nas, The Neville Brothers, Otis Redding, The Righteous Brothers, The Rolling Stones, Seal, Dan Seals, Nina Simone, The Spinners, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, The Supremes, James Taylor, Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Womack and Ray Charles, among many others. Sam Cooke’s legacy continues with each new generation: • 1986 - Sam Cooke was one of the first ten inductees into the newly founded Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame. • 1987 - Sam Cooke was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. • 1993 - Sam Cooke received the Chairman’s Award from The Apollo Theatre Foundation. • 1999 - Sam Cooke received the first Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation; and • 1999 - Sam Cooke received the NARAS Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. • 2001 - Sam Cooke received proclamations in Los Angeles County, Mississippi and Chicago declaring December 17 Sam Cooke Day. • 2003 – SAM COOKE/LEGEND – DVD becomes a GRAMMY Award Winner for Best Long Form Music Video. • 2005 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum salutes Sam Cooke’s life and legacy with its Tenth Annual American Music Masters Series at Case Western Reserve University. • 2006 – Sam Cooke’s composition “A Change Is Gonna Come” is added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. • 2011 – Sam Cooke’s Chicago roots are honored when the city renames a portion of East 36th Street near Cottage Grove Avenue as “Sam Cooke Way.” • 2013 – A biopic of Sam Cooke’s life goes into pre-production with Carl Franklin set to direct.