Sam Cooke – $650,000
Greatest Hits: Wonderful World, Chain Gang, A Change is Gonna Come
Sam Cooke was a resident, musician, and business owner. He was also an influential songwriter. His pop music power and the popular voice called him the “King of Soul.” He began singing when he was young, joining The Soul Stirrers until his later solo career. He supported Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, Billy Preston, Marvin Gaye, and many more. He popularized James Brown and Otis Redding. AllMusic author Bruce Eder called him soul genre “inventor.” Born in Mississippi.
Sam Cooke
Bert Berns – $20 million
Greatest Hits: Hang on Sloopy, Twist and Shout, Here Comes the Night
Born in the Bronx, Bert Berns (also by Bert Russell and Russell Byrd) were a very influential producer and songwriter in the 1960s. His credits include popular pieces like “Twist and South,” “Hang on Sloopy” and more. He produced popular songs such as “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Under the Boardwalk” and “Baby Please Don’t Go,” signed for Atlantic, Bang, and Shout. When he was young, he used to dance in mambo nightclubs, living in Havana before the Cuban Revolution brought him back to America. He died of 38-year-old heart complications.
Bert Berns