When Sam Cooke sings to me, he has me "feeling like black is the thing to be," much like how Tupac says the lyrics of Marvin Gaye ignite cultural pride in his 1993 single, "Keep Ya Head Up."
Many a friend has walked into my room, enveloped by the smooth, mellow voice of Sam Cooke and snickered at my "old woman music." The club hits are what everyone my age downloads, and though I have my share of those, nothing gets to me more than listening to the voices of men and women who lived in an era where strength of character was tested every second.
Each time I hear the opening chords of "A Change is Gonna Come," Sam Cooke's 1964 social commentary, I feel like I was born in the wrong time period. The haunting misery of his words and the deep sadness in his voice take me away to another place and time. A time when black entertainers were forced to walk through the back door of the same building in which they were scheduled to perform, and a time when a young black teenager would be murdered for whistling at a white woman.
I try to imagine what it must have been like to witness and experience these atrocities in absolute helplessness, with the power only to write a song. Perhaps, this is why so many songs written by black entertainers, before and during the Civil Rights era, have that poignant quality underlying every lyric.
There were enough social horrors in that period of American history to inspire many black singers and songwriters to sound a lyrical call to social arms.
"Birmingham, Sept. 15 - A bomb hurled from a passing car blasted a crowded Negro church today, killing four girls in their Sunday school classes and triggering outbreaks of violence that left two more persons dead in the streets," stated a 1963 Washington Post article about the infamous Birmingham church bombing.
Jazz vocalist, Nina Simone penned an outraged "Mississippi Goddam" in response to the senseless murders; this moving song encapsulates the way black entertainers used their talent to bring injustices to light.
By the time Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. started marching and Malcolm X started rebelling, the days of the happy, singing "Negro" were over. Sam Cooke shed his processed hair and lover man image for the rugged, truth-telling appeal of "A Change is Gonna Come."
Marvin Gaye, whose catchy lyrics to songs like "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" had once thrilled many white audiences, wanted nothing to do with the image that had brought him success. Gyrating on stage to fairytale songs took a backseat to singing about the very real issues affecting the country. His songs "What's Going On" and "Mercy, Mercy Me," teemed with commentary on the Vietnam War and the growing unrest of blacks in a racist society.
Even Mahalia Jackson's flow of soul-stirring gospel was interrupted long enough to add her voice to the musical revolt. Her songs burned with the heated message of promised retribution for wrongs committed against those who were oppressed. Black Christian gospel took its place as a form of comfort to the helpless and a reminder that better was to come. Jackson's strong, heart-rending voice rose above the sobs of the mourners when she sang "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" at Dr. King's funeral after he was shot to death by a member of the opposition to the Civil Rights Movement.
Brave men and women emerged at a time when the voices of African-Americans were all but ignored in politics and when it took - in some corners of the country - nothing more than the sweep of a Klansman's hand to snuff out a young black life.
At a time when calling for change meant risking violent endings like those experienced by Dr. King, Malcolm X and others, these singers used their talent to shine a spotlight on the country's ugly social state. Their songs convey the sentiments of the civil rights era in ways that no history books can.
They fought with all they had to affect necessary changes and there are still social changes to be made. There might be a time when we will need the melodies of Mahalia Jackson to comfort us, or the voice of James Brown to remind us to "Say it Loud."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
