DR. HOOK: Cover to Cover

Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur.

Influential as both a singer and composer, he is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocals and importance within popular music. 

His pioneering contributions to soul music contributed to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Billy Preston and popularized Otis Redding and James Brown. AllMusic biographer Bruce Eder wrote that Cooke was "the inventor of soul music", and possessed "an incredible natural singing voice and a smooth, effortless delivery that has never been surpassed"

"Only Sixteen" is a song by Sam Cooke, released in May 1959. 

The song was a top 15 hit on Billboard's Hot R&B Sides chart and also charted within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. 

The song was inspired by the sixteenth birthday of Lou Rawls' stepsister, Eunice.

Dr. Hook covered Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen" in 1976. It was released as a single from their album Bankrupt.

Dr. Hook's version was the most successful chart release of the song. It reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Cash Box Top 100. The song spent 22 weeks on the charts and became a Gold record. 

Here's their version from the Don Kirchner Rock Concert TV show.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)