Feature Song: “A Change is Gonna Come”
I remember hearing this song about a year after its initial release in 1964. Although as a 15 year-old Canadian living in a predominantly white suburb of the city, I couldn’t fully understand or relate to what the lyrics were telling me, but deep down I knew that it was telling a story of a life I knew nothing about. The song disappeared from my radar, of course, replaced with the music of my teens and early twenties. And that was the case for a very long time, until I saw Regina King’s 2020 film, One Night In Miami, based on Kemp Powers’ 2013 debut play of the same name. He also wrote the screenplay for the movie. The second memory jog came when I heard Playing for Change’s cover version, which was performed at a live concert in Brazil in 2015. The tie-in between the song’s name and this music collective’s name was simply screaming at me: “You have to do this.” As a rule, I always listen to the screaming in my head!
“A Change Is Gonna Come” is a song by American singer songwriter Sam Cooke. It first appeared on his 1964 album, Ain’t That Good News. There was a slightly edited version that was released later that year as a single. It was actually the B-side to the song, “Shake.” The inspiration for the song was directly inspired by events in Cooke’s life, specifically when he and his entourage were turned away from a white-only hotel in Louisiana. At the time, he felt compelled to write a song about his struggle and the struggle of those around him. Although the song was only a modest hit at the time of its release, especially in comparison with other singles at the time, the song has become to be considered one of Cooke’s greatest and most influential compositions. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry deeming the song “culturally, historically, or aesthetically important.”
Samuel Cooke (1931-1964) was an American singer and songwriter. He has been considered one of the most influential soul artists of all time and is commonly referred to as the “King of Soul” for his distinctive vocals and his pioneering contributions to the genre. Although his career was short, only eight years, he released 29 singles that charted in the Top 40, 20 of which made it to the Top Ten of Billboard’s Black Singles chart (heavy sigh!). Cooke had a pure tenor voice, which was “big, velvety, and expansive.” His tone was instantly recognizable and his pitch remarkable. His vocal style “was very adaptable, adopting a rather classical sound on jazz and pop songs while maintaining his trademark stylistic soulful hold on R&B, gospel and soul music.” His delivery encompassed a wide range of emotions, which are evident in “A Change is Gonna Come,” with his soulfulness on full display. Cooke’s vocals would go on to influence many including, Otis Redding, James Brown, Rod Stewart, Johnny Nash, and Tina Turner, just to name a few.
Two of the three covers I chose for this installment are because of a direct association with the song, one via the title, and the other via a dramatization of the artist, which also features a cover of the song sung by the actor portraying Sam Cooke, Leslie Odom Jr. The third one I chose because I like the artist and she does a beautiful job interpreting the song. There are actually several performances of Beth Hart singing “A Change is Gonna Come,” but the one featured is, for me at least, the best.
I have featured the music collective, Playing For Change (PFC) before (see DUTC#s 19, 37, and 46) and, as mentioned above, chose this cover because of the collective’s main goal, which is to usher in change through music, uniting musicians and other performers from around the world. The fact that the central message of this song, written in 1964, still resonates in 2015 when it was performed by PFC, tells you everything you need to know! Their cover features two amazing vocal performances by Grandpa Elliot (USA, on harmonica as well) and Clarence Bekker (Netherlands), as well as backing vocals and the band with musicians from Italy, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Brazil, Japan, and the USA. They also add a short kind of call and response by Elliot and Bekker towards the end of the song, which is worth the price of admission.
King’s 2020 film, One Night in Miami, is a fictional imagining of a conversation, a kind of what-if-this-happened dramatization of an actual meeting between Cassius Clay (before he was Ali), played by Eli Goree, Malcolm X, played by Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jim Brown, played by Aldis Hodge, and Sam Cooke, played by Leslie Odom Jr. The film portrays the four meeting after Clay defeated Sonny Liston in Miami, Feb.25, 1964 in a motel room and engaging in an invigorating debate about racism, among other things. The film also has two connections to the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” The first is the significance of the “room” where the conversation takes place, which is echoed in the musical as “the room where it happens,” more specifically where what’s going to happen gets talked about. The second is the connection to Leslie Odom Jr. gaining recognition for his performance in “Hamilton,” which won him a Tony Award for best actor. His performance of the song in the movie is absolutely mesmerizing. I feel it is necessary to provide a timeline for the year 1964, as there was a great deal going on in that year. The fight between Clay and Liston, mentioned above took place on February 25, 1964. Cooke’s song, “A Change is Gonna Come,” was first released on the album Ain’t That Good News, mid-February 1964, with the slightly altered single being released December 22, 1964, just 11 days after Cooke was shot and killed by a motel manager in Los Angeles, adding another layer to the film’s major scenes taking place in a motel room.
And then there is the cover by Beth Hart. Born in January 1972, Hart is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. She rose to fame with the release of her 1999 single, “LA Song (Out of this Town)” from her second album Screamin’ For My Supper. Hart is known for her “visceral, gritty, soaring, and dynamic contralto vocals,” although the cover I’ve chosen is somewhat sudued. She also plays piano, guitar, cello, bass guitar, and percussion. Hart has also had some well received collaborations with guitarist, Joe Bonamassa, beginning in 2011 with Don’t Explain, followed by the Grammy-nominated Seesaw (2013) and Live in Amsterdam (2014). There is also a collaboration of the featured song, but the crowd noise from this live performance on the video is a bit much. While the cover I have included is also live, it is just her voice and her piano and much easier to listen to. Enjoy!
Sam Cooke. “A Change is Gonna Come.” 1964.
Leslie Odom Jr. “A Change is Gonna Come.” From One Night in Miami. 2020
Playing for Change (PFC). “A Change is Gonna Come.” Live from Curitiba, Brazil, 2015
Beth Hart. “A Change is Gonna Come.” Live Acoustic 2017
LOs Angeles 2024
Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” is a classic in my book. It was very interesting hearing the three covers you highlighted, none of which I knew. They are all great.
I got one for you as well! 🙂
It truly is. Thanks for the Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin cover, really amazing! Glad you enjoyed the ones I posted.
The one version I initially wanted to share, the title track of a 1986 Solomon Burke study album, wasn’t available on YouTube. Like the live rendition with Aretha Franklin, that studio cut is also an extended version of the song. It includes spoken passages by Burke, which become increasingly passionate. It almost ends up sounding like a powerful sermon – quite fitting, given Buke also was a preacher!
Certainly a blog worthy song, all screaming aside! Very thoughtful choices on what is most certainly an important song. It just came up recently in a conversation that included Keb’ Mo’s version. The original is so ingrained in my head, it’s a song I have trouble listening to other versions. I have to say that Leslie Odoms Jr. did a fantastic job. I have always compared it to “What’s Going On” and wonder why it’s not held to the same high esteem, or at lease song ranking.
Thank you. I have seen Keb’ Mo’s version. I know what you mean about the song being ingrained in your head. I too think Odom Jr. did an amazing job on the song. I loved him in the movie, a very talented man.
I think this song was perhaps a bit ahead of its time, and might have resonated more with the general (i.e. white) public had it come out a few years later, say 1967 or 68. But regardless, it’s such an important and impactful song. The three covers you included are all superb as well. the latter two overflowing with unbridled passion.
It’s interesting that you say that, as I have been thinking about the song a great deal since I posted it. I think you are right that it may have been ahead of it’s time, and yet even though a lot has “changed” since it was first released, one could also easily say that those changes have been more of a shift in how things are playing out, and that real capital C change has not really happened. Glad you liked the covers and yes, a great deal of passion in the last two.
As always, brilliant choices to share with us. I loved all of these, but no one, NO ONE, sang like Sam Cooke.
Why thank you. I have to agree with that!