Since Kiana held it down so eloquently for the past week I figured I’d do a Weekend Edition Proper Song now that I’m not in grad school app hell. Plus I’m back in California and feeling grrreat!

 

I was absent-mindedly surfing the internets last night while talking to Mom-dukes about the tamales we’re making today (our Blaxican tamales are quite on point, I must say) when I came across this video of Anthony Hamilton covering Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” at 2dopeboyz:

 

 

After watching the Anthony Hamilton clip my mom jumps up, rummages through her DVD collection, and pulls out Sam Cooke: Legend, a biography she bought from PBS. My mom is that brand of amazing. We spent the next hour revisiting the life, legacy and music of Cooke, who in addition to being all kinds of fine (he had the lip-licking game down before LL made it annoying), was a talented songwriter, producer, businessman and all-around boss. He was friends with everyone from the Beatles to Muhammad Ali (who he did a duet with) and Aretha Franklin kind of wanted to have his babies (I don’t blame her).

 

As with nearly everything remotely related to black people, “A Change is Gonna Come” has taken on heavy Obama connotations since Nov 4th, which makes sense in some ways, but I hope this new appropriation doesn’t overshadow the sheer musical genius and initial historical importance of Sam Cooke’s song.

 

Before Marvin asked “What’s Goin On,” Cooke’s song captured the spirit of struggle, yearning and resilience of the Civil Rights movement. Written and recorded nearly a year before his untimley and senseless death, the song is earnest and haunting — it’s impossible for me to listen to it without feeling a flutter in my stomach.

 

With a self-described desire to reach as many people as possible through his music, Cooke transitioned from Gospel to R&B to Pop during his career. He was comitted to developing the potential in young artists and had the type of charisma when performing that often differentiates good artists from great ones.

 

Anthony Hamilton is not the first to cover the song; everyone and their mom has taken a crack at it, even Wanye Brady (his was suprisingly un-corny). Most covers have stayed true to form– although everyone seems to speed it up a bit, which I think is the biggest reason they tend to fall short. As with many things in life and the arts, the original is still the best:

 

Tags: A Change is Gonna Come, Anthony Hamilton, Aretha Franklin, Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali, Proper Song of the Day, Sam Cooke, The Beatles