Sam Cooke

The 1960s can be seen as a transitory period from the America of the oppressive to the America of the equal and free. Hundreds of years of oppression which had veiled the lives of blacks were finally beginning to be readily uncovered from this veil of oppression. World famous Motown singer Sam Cooke’s song “A Change is Going to Come” symbolizes this intermediary period of hope compounded by the residual deep seeded fears of the past and the future. This songs’ lyrics bring about questions of how Cooke felt of the Civil rights movement and how it would benefit his people and the nation as a whole. “A Change is going to Come” wrestles with the questions of this doubt, uncertainty and hopefulness for Cooke in this period. All results of the

Nevertheless, Phillips kept on putting out influential, black music. Despite the hardening Civil Rights movement in the 1950’s, songs by African American artists slowly became extremely popular. In 1958, the first black artist reached the top of the billboard hot 100. This marked the climax of Phillip’s goal to make popular music from an unpopular race. Sam Phillips’s persistence on creating popular black records and the equality protests go hand in hand. The exposure of the protests and music gave new

The rise of Soul music was a product of the particular environment of that time in which the musicians who created it lived, a period much paralleled with the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) and Black Power Movement (BPM) (Maultsby, 1983, 54). The objective of this research was to examine any existence of political and social messages delivered in Soul music around the civil rights movement era in America, which would lead to a better understanding of the role of Soul music having served in the process of political and social changes in the country.

African American influence in music has been an ever present and controversial subject in American history. Stemming from many different cultures, religions and backgrounds, large portions of American music was introduced by, and credited to African Americans. Although in many cases, this music was used for entertainment by the masses or majority, contrary to popular belief, black music served a greater purpose than just recreation. Dating all the way back to the beginning of slavery in the U.S. during the 17th century, music has been used to make a statement and send a message. As African American music progressed over the years, there were common themes expressed as the genres evolved. It has been an open letter to the world, documenting and protesting the ongoing oppression faced by blacks in the United States, as well as an outlet for frustration. For many African Americans, the music gave them the only voice that couldn’t be silenced by their oppressors.

This song was influenced by Bob Dylan’s “Blowing In The Wind” and gave a visual representation of the discrimination that African-American face even at public places like movie theaters. Civil rights supporters sang this song with tears in their eyes and hope in their heart that the prejudice against African-Americans will end.

Charlie Pride did it in 1971. Darius Rucker did it in 2009. That’s it. Two black men, spanning thirty-eight years, are the only black artists to win a Country Music Association Award. With country music rooted in bluegrass and rhythm and blues, why aren’t there more black country music stars? When considering the roots of country music, and how closely related country is to blues, bluegrass and honky tonk music, an examination of what happened to all the black musicians seems warranted, no? This paper examines the dearth of black artists in country music and the careers of one of the few black artists who has had commercial success in this genre of music.

Sam Cooke was one of the most important soul singers in history -- he was the inventor of soul music. Cooke was one of the most popular performers in both the black and white communities. He was also among the first modern black performers and composers to venture into the business side of the music business, when he founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as an addition to being a singer and composer. Like many artist before him Cooke tackled issues including the struggle over civil rights. Some may even say the intensity of which followed an arc that paralleled Cooke's emergence as a star -- his own career bridged gaps between black and white audiences that few had tried to surmount, much less

The blues have deep roots embedded within American history—particularly that of African American history. The history of the blues originated on Southern plantations in the 19th century and was created by slaves, ex-slaves, and descendants of slaves. They were created by individuals who endured great hardship while performing endless hours of arduous labor and blues served as a form of escapism. To these individuals, songs provided them with the strength to persevere through their struggles. Blues songs depicted individuals who persevered in the face of adversity. They were symbols of hope to those squandering in the depths of oppression. In relations to the blues, every song has a story behind it and within every story, there is something to be said. Blues artists, through their struggles, detail how they overcame hardship and laughed at the face of oppression. They defied the rules and in doing so, showed African Americans that they too are beacons of hope for the hopeless. The best blues is instinctive, cathartic, and intensely emotional. From irrepressible bliss to deep sadness, no form of music communicates more genuine emotion than that of the blues. Like many bluesmen of his day, Robert Johnson applied his craft as a lonely traveling musician on street corners and in juke joints. He was a lonely man whose songs romanticized that existence. With Johnson’s unique vocal style, haunting lyrics, and creative guitar techniques, Johnson’s innovation embodied the essence of

WEAKNESSES • The plan requires heavy investments in A&P and R&D, which would lead to lower shortterm profits. • Focus on white meat exclusively, would lead to negative publicity of the Oscar-Mayer red meat product line. OPPORTUNITIES • White meat market is not saturated as of now, and R&D can come up with new products to capture more market share. • The new products shelved, can enter the market and may turn out to be profitable if

Ben Cauley raised his trumpet to his lips to play like he did so many times before at the corner of College and East McLemore in South Memphis. Only this time, Cauley wasn’t inside of the Stax Records building, the place where he recorded on dozens of hits by Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays, and Carla Thomas. He was outside the building about to perform on the street. For this occasion he wasn’t adding funky horn lines to a soul classic, but was instead about to play one of his saddest songs, solo, and Cauley knew sadness. On December 8, 1967, he survived a plane crash that killed Otis Redding, his bandmates in the Bar-Kays, and the pilot. He was the sole survivor. But on this December morning, Cauley played “Taps,” a simple song that signifies the end; the end of the day or the end of a life. For on this day, a valiant effort to stop the South Side Church of God in Christ from tearing down the Stax Records and Studio, a few inches from where Cauley was about to perform, came to an end. It also marked the end of the building that once housed one of the largest and most successful independent labels in history, but the building represented so much more. Without consciously knowing it,

For centuries, Gospel music has influenced and promoted African-American social, moral and ethical values, playing an imperative role in modelling their past and future. Originating from the hardships of slavery and the strength of Christian worship, Gospel music has adapted to musical tastes through the development of a number of sub-genres, while retaining its moral and spiritual framework. Throughout its musical history, Gospel music has had a profound and predominant influence on its devotees and followers. During the turbulent years of the American Civil Rights Movement, Gospel music played a vital role in building the foundations of stability and

Establishment of Motown in April 1960, granted opportunities to young African-American singers or a platform to reach vast audiences, were in the past were subjugated. Motown provided various church gospel singers like Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and others to showcase their talents. Writes Ricky Vincent: “The music followed the people, as both matured and grew to new levels of independence and meaning”. (Vincent, 3) Sam Cooke’s brilliant “Change is going to come”, “Keep on pushing” and Stevie Wonders “Heaven Help us All”, are some of the great example of popular black music. The song’s depicted decade’s long struggles and racial brutality faced by blacks, and challenge society to change the status quo. Vincent Writes “Music that went beyond the personal issues, dealt with higher forces and spoke of the society.”(Vincent, 4)

We as individuals have a chance to make a difference in the world, we have a chance to be a voice for others who don’t, and we definitely have the power to make and be the change we want to see. Although we have the power to do so, sometimes it’s difficult, but it does not mean that we have to give up. An example of someone making a change is the author of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” The author, Wallace Willis, is believed to have written the song to bring awareness to slavery in the past. The song was sung by many and grasped the attention of people and helped bring awareness to the topic of slavery. There are also authors now, in the present who write protest songs to bring awareness to problems and situations that are happening everywhere in the world, situations that are affecting us now. The song “FDT,” is a song written about the current president, Donald Trump, and talks about his decisions in office and other things. These people use their voice to make a stand, they want to change the world for the better. Although, the way they make their voice heard is by using strategies that will catch everyone’s attention.

Bob has a message in every song and just about every verse. His songs are very “poetic and powerful”. ‘Blowin in the Wind’ states it’s message within the first two verses. “ How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?’’, it talks about racial justice. “How many seas must a white dove sail, before she sleeps in the sand?”, this symbolizes people looking for peace. He claims to have written ‘Blowin in the Wind’ in just 10 minutes to the melody of an old slave song. Before he perform the song he always said “ This here ain’t no protest song or anything like that, ‘ cause I don’t write no protest songs.” Bob’s version never hit the charts, the song became popular when the tri Peter, Paul and Mary performed it.

“Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” by Pete Seeger became a popular anti-war protest song during the 1960s. This song did not only protest against the Vietnam War but also made their generation more aware about the global problems. Songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” by Dixie chicks about freedom of speech was written after they received death threats for singing against the Iraq war, protests against the violation of human rights. But music is not only used to protest, it is also used to give hope and optimism. “We Shall Overcome”, a song sung by Guy Carawan together with the Montgomery Gospel Trio and the Nashville Quartet, is perhaps the best known example of civil rights song. Instead of blaming the government, this song registered a feeling of hope and faith among African-Americans during the civil rights movement.