Sam Cooke discography: History and Key Facts

The discography of Sam Cooke, an American singer and songwriter, consists of fourteen studio albums (including one collaborative album and two notable posthumous releases), two live albums, 49 singles, 13 compilations and 2 box sets. Over the course of his eight-year career, Cooke placed 29 singles in the Top 40 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. He also placed 20 singles in the Top Ten of Billboard's R&B chart, Black Singles chart. Between 1957 and 1960, Sam Cooke recorded for Keen Records; from 1960 through 1966, he recorded for RCA Victor.

Ownership of Cooke's material is split between RCA Records (roughly 1958–1963) and ABKCO (post-1963), with each label releasing their own compilations and rarely cross-licensing (The Man and His Music and Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964 being the two exceptions). As a result, few of Cooke's original albums saw individual reissue on compact disc, and, consequently, digital distribution, although all of Cooke's recorded work has been released in various compilations and in boxed sets.

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