When Sam Cooke was shot dead in a cheap motel in Hollywood, he was one of America's most successful pop stars. He left a Ferrari idling in the driveway of the Hacidenda Motel and a legacy of hit songs which included You Send Me, Cupid, A Wonderful World, Only 16, Another Saturday Night and A Change is Gonna Come. Sam Cooke's voice reached out beyond segregated audiences and command a white following. His songbook has been covered by a variety of performers, from Otis Redding to Rod Stewart, from Aretha Franklin to Simon and Garfunkel. This is the full and sometimes shocking story of an American musical legend, and the changing times in which he lived and died.