| "A Change Is Gonna Come" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Sam Cooke | ||||
| from the album Ain't That Good News | ||||
| A-side | "Shake" | |||
| Released | December 22, 1964 | |||
| Recorded | January 30, 1964 | |||
| Studio | RCA (Hollywood, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Sam Cooke | |||
| Producer(s) | Hugo & Luigi | |||
| Sam Cooke singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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".
The song was inspired by various events in Cooke's life, most prominently when he and his entourage were turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana. Cooke felt compelled to write a song that spoke to his struggle and of those around him, and that pertained to the Civil Rights Movement and African Americans.
Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, "A Change Is Gonna Come" is widely considered one of Cooke's greatest and most influential compositions and has been voted among the greatest songs ever recorded by various publications. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress by the National Recording Registry, having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[2] In 2021, Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 3 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3]
- ^ "Billboard". The Billboard Publishing Co. 22 February 1964.
- ^ Cannady, S. 2007, Recordings by Historical Figures and Musical Legends Added To the 2006 National Recording Registry: Library of Congress Accepting Nominations for the 2007 Registry, viewed May 9, 2017
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.