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Case file s223 · Music and sport · 1964
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1964
Sam Cooke: Sam Cooke 2
Sam Cooke. RCA Victor Records. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
11 December 1964
Place
Hacienda Motel, Los Angeles · United States
Field
soul, gospel · Music on the timeline
Legal tradition
US common law (California) · Common law
Historical event
Civil rights movement; "A Change Is Gonna Come," 1964
Music and sportPostwarNorth AmericaUnited States

Sam Cooke was shot by a motel manager who then sued his estate, and his manager's company already owned his recordings

Sam Cooke was shot in the chest at the Hacienda Motel in South Los Angeles. Manager Bertha Franklin said he forced his way into her office and grabbed her. A coroner's jury ruled the killing justifiable homicide within a week, and the case was closed. Franklin then sued Cooke's estate for $200,000 for injuries and mental anguish. Cooke's widow, Barbara, countersued for $7,000 in funeral costs. In 1967 the court awarded Franklin $30,000. Barbara married singer Bobby Womack, a member of Cooke's circle, within months of the killing†. Cooke's business was already tied up. In 1963 he had hired Allen Klein to manage his companies. Klein negotiated an RCA deal under which Tracey Ltd., a holding company named after Cooke's daughter but owned by Klein, would produce and own Cooke's recordings. Klein's company, ABKCO, controls Cooke's catalogue in 2026†. Family members and supporters still reject the official account of the shooting; no evidence of a conspiracy has been presented.

What the law took from it

An artist who lets a manager own the company holding his masters has already transferred his estate before death.

Sources
  1. Internet ArchiveGovernment record
  2. The New York TimesPress
  3. The New York TimesPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Sam Cooke was shot by a motel manager who then sued his estate, and his manager's company already owned his recordings,” story s223, https://www.celebrity.estate/sam-cooke-1964, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

Music and sportPostwarNorth AmericaCommon lawUnited States