Sam Cooke

Thousands of screaming, crying, pushing people thronged the area surrounding A.R. Leak's Funeral Home at 7838 So. Cottage Grove yesterday, in a frantic attempt to view the body of singer Sam Cooke.

Although extra police details were assigned to the funeral home from Kensington, Grand Crossing, second district and traffic units, the traffic remained snarled for blocks and many drivers took to the alleys.

Both chapels, each holding about 300 people, were filled shortly after the doors opened, and the urgency of many to "get a last look at Sam" resulted in near chaos, with the young and old being crushed in the process.

One emotional woman, when crushed while attempting to step over the threshold, screamed "Please let me in, I've never seen anything like this in my life."

Cooke's coffin was covered with glass, to the disappointment of many. A blind woman, who came to pay her respects and perhaps "touch" her singing idol was rammed against a door frame, and had to be pulled over by funeral parlor employees.

A heartrending sight to many was 11 year-old Denise Cooke, reported to be the singer's oldest child. Denise, accompanied by her mother, Mrs. Maxine Summerville, wept hysterically, her body convulsed with sobs. She shook her head back and forth, as if unable to accept the fact that her daddy was gone.

—The Chicago Defender, 19th December, 1964