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One music blog celebrated the event of this past Tuesday by posting 14 different versions of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come," and that only scratched the discographical surface, The song has, over the past four decades, become in effect the National Anthem of Soul, written, it's said, as a response to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind," and released as a B-side of the posthumous single "Shake." "Shake" was Cooke's final Top 10 single; its flip side made it up to #31.
I heard it on the radio in very early 1965. Cooke had only recently been murdered. He had been a fixture on hit radio for years: "Chain Gang," "Another Saturday Night," "Twistin' The Night Away," "Having A Party," "Wonderful World." I got to see him at my very first live R&R show in the spring of 1961, just before "Cupid" hit the charts (his then-current single -- and maybe that's why it's one of my favorites -- was 'That's It-I Quit-I'm Movin' On").
But when the deejay on WMCA, WABC or WINS played "A Change Is Gonna Come," a plea from the grave, I knew immediately that this wasn't another Sam Cooke pop record. Not another "Good News" or "Good Times" (his back-to-back hits of early '64). It was somber and spiritual. I didn't know then that Cooke had been a gospel star; he was just another singer on the Silver Dollar Survey to me. I also didn't know that the version of "A Change Is Gonna Come" was missing a verse about the singer being told that he couldn't go to a certain movie theatre or hang around in a certain downtown neighborhood. But I knew this was serious business.
Of course, I thought about that on Tuesday. I thought about all the black R&B, blues, and jazz artists who have told me that when they were touring in the '50s and '60s, they had to stay in separate hotels and eat in separate restaurants from the white acts. I thought about all the artists who took Sam Cooke's mission statement as their own, from Aretha to Al Green to Terence Trent D'Arby to Aaron Neville to Lauryn Hill to Patti Labelle, to Seal, to Otis to Bobby Womack to Solomon Burke.
Cooke, and Otis, and so many others, didn't live to see this new day, when possibility has been realized. When the song was written in 1964, the slow simmering of the melody suggested that change would be hard, and incremental. There was frustration in Cooke's vocal, but there was also what we would now recognize as Hope.
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Comments (14)
Excellent post. Visiting the past sometimes can give us our paths in the future. Thanks for sharing!
How immensely cool was it that in his election night speech Barack quoted Lincoln ... and Sam Cooke (with a minor but deeply significant modification of tense)?
"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."
Wow, you saw Sam Cooke live in 1961? Any memories you have about the event? His extra verse is exciting to learn of here. Is it from some box set, or from your well-sleeved 45? It's hard to think of a singer in any genre or period with a more musical voice.
I'm a big Al Green fan from his Hi years, but his strenuous performance here could have been way more moving and powerful without his inappropriate stage antics. This Allison Moorer knew to stay focused.
Great post, well-written.
I was listening a few months ago to a Sam Cooke comp arranged chronologically, and what struck me was how much stronger he was than most of his material - at least the Top 40 stuff. Then this one came up. No matter how many times you've heard it before, it is always a punch in the gut. There's a legitimate case to be made for this as the most complete pop song ever recorded.
The Neville Brothers do an especially nice job with it, too....
This just blew me away this morning my friend. A most excellent post & soundtrack.
I have NEVER heard this before, so imagine the favor you've just done me. Fabulous.
Great post! What's amazing to me, is how hard it was to find this song for purchase for a number of years. There was some legal wrangling behind that,no?
Agreed with Ivy on the stark difference between Change and the rest of his pop material.
Thanks all for your comments. Much appreciated.
Spike: I was only 10 when I saw my first R&R show. It was at the Brooklyn Paramount, hosted by NY DJ Murray The K, and Cooke was just one of the artists on the bill (with Dion, Del Shannon, The Chantels, U.S. Bonds, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Carla Thomas, Rosie of the Originals...). Each act had a few songs at most, backed by the house band. It was a great show, and Sam sang a couple of his current hits, but my most vivid memory is of The Isley Brothers doing "Shout,' because they were so electrifying, and of Rosie, because she was greeted by appreciative wolf-whistles by the guys in the audience, but she really couldn't sing to save her life.
Agree with you on the Al Green performance. I saw this at the opening ceremonies of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and thought it was tremendous, but watching the clip, I wish he had been more focused on the song and less on hamming it up.
And the longer version of "Change" is on the "Portrait of a Legend" CD.
Cody B: Yes, there was some issue between RCA and ABKCO about Sam Cooke masters that kept most Cooke recordings in limbo for a while.
emscee, just noticing that I have his "Portrait of a Legend" CD and that the notes don't mention the extra verse, which means that you have sharp ears and a good memory.
Nice thread.
"A Change Is Gonna Come" was, for the most part, my uncle's swan song. I devoted a whole chapter on his songwriting abilities and a section of that chapter on this very song, but I'm still touched when people like you share what "Change" means to them on a personal level.
I thank you on my behalf, and I thank you on Sam's.
Erik Greene
Author, “Our Uncle Sam: The Sam Cooke Story From His Family's Perspective”
www.OurUncleSam.com
Sam's Neph,
Thanks so very, very much for your comment.
I was one of countless people who were touched by your uncle's music, and who thought about him on Tuesday night. You must be terribly proud of his lasting impact, and of the legacy he left behind.
Best,
emscee
Great post.
I don't know if it's just me, but Sam Cooke's "Bring it On Home to Me" is what I was listening to on election night. Seems almost as fitting as "A Change is Gonna Come."
very timely and fitting post; i think it needs to be mentioned that this song was curiously not available for many years, even though it was one of Sam's most notable songs -- i wonder why ?