We’ve already celebrated what would’ve been Sam Cooke’s 77th birthday this year. But that’s not going to stop the Sam Cooke fan club from staging their fifth annual Sam Cooke Tribute in Memphis this weekend.

Reports CA music editor Bob Mehr:

On Friday, the Cooke fan club will be chartering a bus to travel to his Clarksdale, Miss., birthplace, where the inaugural place on the town’s new Walk of Fame will be dedicated to Cooke’s memory as part of statewide “Sam Cooke Day.” The event will be followed by a lunch at the Ground Zero Blues Club, an educational panel on Cooke’s life, as well as a tour of the city. Tickets are available for the entire package and cost $50 each.

The day will be capped with a “Tennessee Waltz” party that will take place back in Memphis at the Doubletree; tickets for that event cost $20.

On Friday evening, the fan club has scheduled its annual tribute dinner and show in the main ballroom of the Doubletree. Erik Greene, Cooke’s great-nephew and author of the book “Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story from His Family’s Perspective” — who will be part of the Clarksdale panel — will also be speaking at the gala. Tickets for the dinner are $80 per person.

For more information, or to buy tickets, log on to the fan club Web site at samcookefanclub.com or call (818) 335-6809.