In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Calvin Cooke 10 Although he is not a large man, Calvin Cooke stands as a giant among contemporary Keith Dominion steel guitarists. His musical innovations in the form of inventive, exciting tunes, or “jams,” which propelled congregations to ever higher levels of spiritual ecstasy, have been imitated by dozens of Keith Dominion steel guitarists. His unrivaled forty-seven-year tenure as a steel guitarist at the annual General Assembly has helped make him a venerated figure to thousands of congregants, spanning three generations. Calvin Cooke was born January 11, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio. He has three brothers and three sisters, all of whom are alive today. The Cooke family home was 8412 Linwood, near Huff Street, which he recalls as lined with barbeque restaurants and pawn shops. His mother, Elizabeth, was active in the Jewell Dominion, as was most of her extended family. She was a talented, passionate singer who was frequently featured as a soloist in church. The extended Cooke family was rich in musical talent; all of Calvin’s brothers played instruments, his sisters sang, and several of his cousins and uncles were competent church musicians. Calvin was raised by his stepfather, William Cooke, and never knew his biological father. William Cooke worked at the Republic Steel mill in Cleveland. It was hard, dangerous work, but it was steady, paid well, and he had the weekends off. He was not a member in any church, but sang at local gospel programs with a vocal quartet that also included his brotherin -law. Calvin cannot remember the name of the quartet, but recalls that they performed on gospel programs with well-known groups like the Soul Stirrers, in the era when Sam Cooke (no relation) sang lead in the group. William Cooke died of cancer in 1956, when Calvin was twelve. It was only then that Calvin’s mother told him that he was his stepfather, not his biological father. Calvin Cooke has fond memories of fishing with his brother Gary, his stepfather, and his uncle on the weekends. They called their favorite spot on the Lake Erie shore in downtown Cleveland “the rocks.” They caught white bass, perch, pike, sheepshead, and shad. Following successful fishing trips, his mother’s extended family visited to enjoy fellowship and mouthwatering fried fish and other food Mr. Cooke prepared on the brick grill that he had built in the backyard. Fishing has been a favorite leisure activity throughout Calvin’s life and he remains an avid fisherman today. Since he has retired, he sometimes fishes several times a week. Cooke’s immediate family was among seven or eight families from the Ohio Jewell Dominion churches—about half the denomination’s membership in that state—who left to join the Keith Dominion in 1955. Because several members of his mother’s extended family stayed in the Jewell Dominion , he has maintained fairly close ties to that church. Elder Mae Hodge served as pastor at the local Keith Dominion church, which the kids called “down in the hole,”because it was below street level on Euclid Street. Elder Hodge wanted someone to play instrumental music for worship services, to help “make a joyful noise” in praise of the Lord. She knew eleven-year-old Cooke was interested in music, and was alleged to have some ability, so she bought him his first guitar, a black standard, or“Spanish neck,”electric instrument. Although he had learned a few chords from family members before he acquired his own instrument, his small hands made it difficult to reach far enough to form chords or play scales with any facility. “My fingers wouldn’t fit the guitar,”he recalls.“All I would do is turn it over and play it with a knife, with the back of a knife. And that’s how I started.”1 About the same time, Cooke’s first cousin, Maynard Sopher, who was about a year or two older than Calvin, got an electric guitar. They teamed up to play in church; Cooke played knife-style steel as Sopher played bass lines and shuffles on the lower strings of his guitar. The two youngsters were the only musicians who played in the local Keith Dominion church at that time. Cooke played the big, black electric guitar knife-style for about two years until his mother bought him a lap-steel.“I was about thirteen years old. She bought me a Rickenbacker lap guitar from the pawn shop. It was a black one with a...

Share