A Change Being Come By Gcse Essay

Sam Cooke is a soul musician known for being influential with his song “A Change is Gonna Come” during the civil rights movement. This song wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Bob Dylan’s song “Blowin in the Wind”. “Blowing in the Wind” asks rhetorical questions about peace, war and freedom that were (and still are) relevant to society. This song quickly became a staple protest song during the Civil Rights Movement. Before Sam Cooke decided to write his song, “A Change Gonna Come”, he covered Bob Dylan’s song, “Blowin in the Wind”, and quickly added this cover to his repertoire. The way Sam Cooke covered this song when he sang it at the Copa was so influential that it became one of the biggest covers at that time and to this day is

This is especially because this was a time where segregation was occurring and to sing a song that a white man sang was crossing over and somewhat defying the segregation that was implanted in society. When Sam Cooke first heard Bob Dylan’s song and interpreted the lyrics, he felt as if a Black man should’ve written this song. He passionately felt this because he thought that a Black man should have written about African Americans oppression and discrimination. He was amazed at how the song was written and baffled that he himself had not written any song that speaks up for all the oppression that African Americans have gone through; hence the inspiration for “A Change is Gonna Come” sparked. Sam Cooke was a soul singer but he did achieve crossover success where he managed to reach black and white audiences mainstream with his soul/pop and gospel music. It makes sense that he was a soul singer as the soul genre had music that became political and was a signifier of blackness and that’s what many of songs had content of. It was prominent that he was challenging racial stereotypes imposed on African Americans through his music. Now when he decided to cover Bob Dylan’s song, he wanted to put his own individualism to the song and make a statement with it. In order to do this, he knew he had to add his own flair with his look and musical stylistic

He starts off his performance strong by entering with confidence while the performers in the back start the song off by clapping along to the song. When he gets to the microphone, he seems a bit nervous but quickly loosened up and starts working the audience. He begins emoting by using his hand gestures in order to show that he’s comfortable performing and gives the audience a warm invite to join along. His hand gestures show how passionate he is as he exaggerates his hand movements to really convey his message that he deserves to be there and be respected. He emphasizes the message that everyone should be treated equally and with respect when he goes up to an all white audience and gets them to stand up and dance along to the song. The backup dancers add on to this invitation as they clap and dance along to the song which in turn convinces the audience to do the same. To do that during a time where segregation was prominent sends a powerful message that everyone can be treated equally and live in harmony with one another. His welcoming persona and the way he carries himself with such grace and poise allows for the audience to realize that he’s human and deserved to be treated like a human