"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke. It initially appeared on Cooke's album Ain't That Good News, released mid-February 1964[1] by RCA Victor; a slightly edited version of the recording was released as a single on December 22, 1964. Produced by Hugo & Luigi and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the B-side to "Shake".
Otis Redding covered the song for his 1965 album Otis Blue, saying he wanted to "fill the silent void" created by Cooke's death.[27] His version, retitled "Change Gonna Come," is a more restrained arrangement without any orchestration.[27] The 5th Dimension covered it on their 1970 album Portrait, in a medley with the United States Declaration of Independence and People Got to Be Free, and released a popular single of the three songs.[28][29] Baby Huey covered it in a posthumous album released in 1971.
The song served as a sample for rappers Ghostface Killah (1996), Ja Rule (2003), Papoose (2006), Lil Wayne (2007) "Long Time Coming (remix)" Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, B.o.B (2009), Nas's It Was Written album also features a similar opening as the song, On their album The Reunion hip-hop artists Capone-N-Noreaga used an excerpt from the song on the opening track which shares the same title as the Cooke original, and Bizzle (2011).
After winning the 2008 United States presidential election, Barack Obama referred to the song, stating to his supporters in Chicago, "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America." A duet of the song by Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi was included in We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In Washington DC, in the days leading up to the Inauguration of Barack Obama, this song could be heard played constantly in the city centre.
In 2004, Patti LaBelle performed the song on the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert to a standing ovation.
The West Wing season 6 episode 7 first aired on December 1, 2004. The episode was called "A Change Is Gonna Come" and featured a tribute to Sam Cooke, where James Taylor performed the song for President Bartlet and other guests at a reception.
On June 1, 2013, Beyoncé Knowles sang the song during The Sound of Change Live concert in London, as part of Chime for Change, an organization which supports total equality between women and men in all areas of life. Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone magazine noted that Knowles belted out the song,[30] while Alice Vincent from The Daily Telegraph noted that the rendition of the song reflected the event's purpose.[31] Later, on July 20, 2013, Knowles performed the song during a stop in Detroit as part of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The performance followed the city's recent file for bankruptcy. As Knowles performed, the screen behind her displayed photos of Detroit's landmarks and icons including Aretha Franklin, Aaliyah, Eminem, Anita Baker, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, the White Stripes, Berry Gordy Jr., Joe Louis. In 2019, Céline
