Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” named a Songwriter Hall of Fame Towering Song

A Change Is Gonna Come Sam Cooke

Writer(s): Sam Cooke (see lyrics here) Released: December 22, 1964 First Charted: January 9, 1965 Peak: 31 US, 46 CB, 53 HR, 9 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 42.41 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The song which “became an anthem of the civil rights movement in the United States” NRR owed its existence to a black man determined to outdo a white man’s commentary on racism. Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” “profoundly inspired and disturbed” RS500 Sam Cooke, who said at the time, “Jeez, a white boy writing a song like that?” RS500 Cooke responded with an introspective protest song in which he “preaches a sermon on humanity,” MA tapping into his personal experiences and capturing the pain and suffering of a greater whole. He gave first-person accounts of segregation and an event in which he and members of his entourage were arrested for disturbing the peace at a white motel in Shreveport, Louisiana, RS500 while also mourning the accidental drowning death of his infant son. RS500 Despite its “weary tone” WK and the negative circumstances which birthed the song, it is a “hopeful tome and vision for a multi-cultural society” SH which has been called the soul singer’s “most significant and enduring composition.” SH It also served as “Cooke’s farewell address and final hit.” RS500 He recorded “Change” in December 1963, WK but it wasn’t until after he was fatally shot a year later at a Los Angeles motel that the song was released as a single. Its reach is demonstrated by the myriad of artists who have covered the song. Among the 500+ versions are those by The Band, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Bragg, Terence Trent D’Arby, Bob Dylan, Gavin DeGraw, Aretha Franklin, the Fugees, Al Green, Greta Van Fleet, R. Kelly, Otis Redding, the Righteous Brothers, Seal, The Supremes, Three Dog Night, Tina Turner, and Bobby Womack. Resources: MA Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New York, NY; New American Library. Page 28. NRR National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress The Full National Recording Registry RS500 Rolling Stone (4/7/2011). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SF Songfacts.com SH Songwriters Hall of Fame Towering Song Award WK Wikipedia.org Related Links: First posted 4/22/2013; last updated 8/16/2022.