Sam Gooden is an African-American soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 singer. He is best known for being an original member of the successful group The Impressions

The Impressions (American band)

The Impressions are an American music group from Chicago, originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes doo-wop, gospel, soul, and R&B....

 from its beginnings as The Roosters in the 1950s. Sam and the group are still recording and performing. He was inducted with the group in 1991 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...

.He can be seen with original Impressions members Fred Cash

Fred Cash

Fred Cash is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being a member of the successful group The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. Cash was an original member of the Roosters , the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for...

 and the late Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Mayfield

Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...

(via archive footage) in the group's first-ever extended interview in the 2008 DVD "Movin On Up- The Message and The Music of Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions" .