Released: 1964
If you were Sam Cooke – or whoever was advising him – you may well have had misgivings about leaving the world of gospel in which he first came to prominence for the sin-laden, secular environs of pop, but if there had been doubts, it never showed.
From Chicago via the south and the son of a preacher, as their lead singer Cooke made The Soul Stirrers one of the most lauded names on a fruitful circuit. When temptation inevitably came he grabbed it by the horns, writing and performing a long line of fifties hits including You Send Me, Twisting The Night Away, Shake and Having A Party.
Cannily diversifying his interests to reinforce this commercial success, the idea of using music’s power to deliver a profound message resurfaced. On hearing Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind and after involvement with the Civil Rights movement, A Change Is Gonna Come harnessed a natural gift for sermonising, whilst the song’s innate dignity and sense of purpose spoke to the optimism of the era.
Cooke would die by the gun in the murkiest of circumstances a year after the song was recorded, it’s message outliving him. But the shadow of it’s creator would remain long, over both soul music and the people who continued to fight for the simple idea of shared humanity his greatest work captured.
The Voice Of Unreason 
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