A change has come

 

Sam Cooke was arguably instrumental in forging the direction of Soul and Rhythm and blues in the late 50’s and early 60’s, taking it away from its religious, Gospel-infused roots and on to not only secular music, but popular music. Cooke, along with Ray Charles and a couple of early rock pioneers including the recently departed Little Richard and Chuck Berry, form this little group of genius artists who essentially paved the way for modern music — to this day. If you listen to any contemporary RnB or Hip-Hop track, which routinely top the charts, you will quickly realize how much Cooke is still very much — musically — alive…

And he was a bona fide superstar in his lifetime as well: one of the first modern heartthrobs, especially of African-American origin, he understood how to leverage his charisma and good looks to present the audience with a full package. A premier vocalist, an exceptionally talented composer and arranger, a great performer… Sam Cooke in many ways embodied the modern performer before there even was one. And he had several immense hits, the most global probably being “Wonderful world“, which readers might confuse with Louis Armstrong’s cult classic “What a wonderful world” — until they actually listen to it…

One of his most exquisite tracks also happens to play an important role in music history, and that is “A change is gonna come”. First released in February 1964 as part of Cooke’s Ain’t that good news album, he only got to publicly perform it once, on television, before a single release was finally slated in December — two weeks after his death… To this day, many find the circumstances of his passing very murky: he was supposedly killed by a motel manager in self defence after menacingly asking about a date he was with and who had fled his room; whether the hotel manager was racially motivated, or the date was attempting to steal Cooke and/or Cooke was effectively trying to force himself on the young woman are questions we may never definitively get answers to. Either way, he wasn’t here to witness the impact of his song…

“A change is gonna come”, which quite directly addressed the Civil Rights movement and the plight of African-Americans in segregated America, was a hit upon single release, aided by the fact that its author had so tragically and recently died. And it only grew bigger with time, slowly becoming a landmark in both music and social history. Indeed, it is an incredibly moving piece, based on an astounding composition and arrangements that have very rarely been equalled. Interestingly, though, Cooke did not just decide to write a song to support the Civil Rights movement — he did it in reaction to another anthem of the cause: Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the wind”. While that song’s legacy is perhaps even greater than that of Cooke’s work, it also happened to be penned by a musician who obviously did not personally share the burden of African-Americans. And Cooke wanted to right that wrong — by authoring the definitive protest song.

Whether or not Cooke achieved that arguably impossible goal is up for debate. Regardless, “A change is gonna come” remains one of his most remarkable songs, as well as a major landmark in African-American music and history. In 2008, almost half a century later, newly elected President Barack Obama couldn’t help but reference the hopeful words of Sam Cooke in his historical victory speech. A nod that the artist would have probably greatly appreciated…