Cooke's inspiration

Sam Cooke · Blowin' in the Wind

Sam Cooke in 1964, a few months before his death, performing "Blowin' in the Wind" on the ABC variety show Shindig!.

From NPR's Sam Cooke And The Song That 'Almost Scared Him':

Soon, Cooke was jarred by another civil rights anthem: Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind," which Guralnick says Cooke loved but wished had come from a person of color — so much so that he incorporated it into his repertoire almost immediately.