Biography
L.C. Cook, whose family spelled the surname without the final “e,” entered the world two years after his sibling Sam as the fifth child among ten born to the Rev. Charles Cook and Annie May. Music filled the household through its deep gospel roots, and while Sam stood out early as the likely standout, L.C. already showed vocal promise as a youngster. During the late ’30s Sam assembled the Singing Children with two sisters; L.C. later joined, turning the unit into a gospel quartet. The brothers performed together first in that family quintet, then in the Nobleairs, and by the late ’40s both belonged to the Highway Q.C.’s, where they enjoyed modest success before parting ways when Sam joined the Soul Stirrers in 1951.
In 1956 L.C. entered the Chicago R&B vocal group the Magnificents, an ensemble Johnny Keyes had started slightly more than a year earlier. The act was then cutting sides for Vee-Jay Records and scoring a half-million-selling single titled “Up on the Mountain.” Around the same period L.C. made his own first recordings, releasing “I Need Your Love” on Chess Records. By 1960 he had moved to SAR Records, the imprint recently launched by his brother. Several singles appeared on the label, yet none succeeded despite the striking vocal resemblance between the two Cooks. The nearest approach to a hit came in 1963 with “The Wobble” and its flip “Put Me Down Easy,” both penned by Sam and the only SAR sides not produced by him; the novelty dance number “The Wobble” received regional attention even though it failed to chart. Ironically, Sam himself later enjoyed a major success with Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett’s “Little Red Rooster,” a track L.C. had earlier declined to issue as his own single.
Following Sam Cooke’s death in late 1964, L.C. declared plans for a tribute project and kept performing and recording, though his trajectory never approached his brother’s level either as singer or writer. His most conspicuous activity remained tied to Sam’s songwriting: in the late ’50s, when Sam found himself bound by interlocking contracts, several compositions—“You Send Me,” “You Were Made for Me,” “Win Your Love for Me,” “I Don’t Want to Cry,” and “That’s All I Need to Know”—were credited to L.C. so they would not revert to Sam’s prior publishers. After the same period L.C. toured with the Upsetters and spoke of further recordings, including a tribute to his brother, yet by the close of the 1960s he had slipped from view. Like Sam, he attempted the leap from gospel to secular music, but despite possessing a strong voice he never aligned with the right material at the right moment.
In 1956 L.C. entered the Chicago R&B vocal group the Magnificents, an ensemble Johnny Keyes had started slightly more than a year earlier. The act was then cutting sides for Vee-Jay Records and scoring a half-million-selling single titled “Up on the Mountain.” Around the same period L.C. made his own first recordings, releasing “I Need Your Love” on Chess Records. By 1960 he had moved to SAR Records, the imprint recently launched by his brother. Several singles appeared on the label, yet none succeeded despite the striking vocal resemblance between the two Cooks. The nearest approach to a hit came in 1963 with “The Wobble” and its flip “Put Me Down Easy,” both penned by Sam and the only SAR sides not produced by him; the novelty dance number “The Wobble” received regional attention even though it failed to chart. Ironically, Sam himself later enjoyed a major success with Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett’s “Little Red Rooster,” a track L.C. had earlier declined to issue as his own single.
Following Sam Cooke’s death in late 1964, L.C. declared plans for a tribute project and kept performing and recording, though his trajectory never approached his brother’s level either as singer or writer. His most conspicuous activity remained tied to Sam’s songwriting: in the late ’50s, when Sam found himself bound by interlocking contracts, several compositions—“You Send Me,” “You Were Made for Me,” “Win Your Love for Me,” “I Don’t Want to Cry,” and “That’s All I Need to Know”—were credited to L.C. so they would not revert to Sam’s prior publishers. After the same period L.C. toured with the Upsetters and spoke of further recordings, including a tribute to his brother, yet by the close of the 1960s he had slipped from view. Like Sam, he attempted the leap from gospel to secular music, but despite possessing a strong voice he never aligned with the right material at the right moment.