Story by: Gail Nobles

Sam Cook was only in his 30s when he tragically passed away in December 1964. He was 33 years old. His song A Change Is Gonna Come was released in 1964.

 Bobby Womack said in a documentary entitled So Deep that the song sounded eerie. He said something felt like death. He felt something terrible was going to happen. There was a premonition that reminded everybody of death according to the documentary.

 There was a hard time in America. Sam Cooke was in the days of the Civil Rights Movement. That's why I believe the song A Change Is Gonna Come sounded like death. Sam Cooke wrote from his heart, and he knew what was going on around him.

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.

"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. Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 3 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Thank you for listening to Entertainment History and News. I’m Gail Nobles.