“A Change Is Gonna Come” was written by Sam Cooke in 1963 and recorded in January of 1964 in Hollywood, CA.  The track was released as a single in December of 1964.  This evocative composition was adopted as an anthem by the Civil Rights Movement virtually upon its release and is widely considered to be Cooke’s most significant and enduring composition. 

“A Change Is Gonna Come” has garnered over 500 recorded versions, including covers by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Solomon Burke, Bobby Womack, the Fugees, Jon Bon Jovi, Seal, R. Kelly, Gavin DeGraw, Terrence Trent D’Arby, the Righteous Brothers, Al Green and many others.  Over the years, “A Change Is Gonna Come” has garnered great accolades and in 2005, was voted #12 by representatives of the music industry and media in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and voted #3 in Pitchfork Media’s The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s.  The song is also among those deemed as “the most important ever recorded” by National Public Radio (NPR) and was selected by the Library of Congress for inclusion in the National Recording Registry.

After the results of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, President-elect Barack Obama specifically referred to “A Change Is Gonna Come,” stating “It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America” to the supporters gathered in Chicago’s Grant Park.  In the days leading up to the president’s inauguration, “A Change Is Gonna Come” could be heard repeatedly at different events throughout the Capital in Washington DC including a duet version by Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi at the Lincoln Memorial.  Cooke’s hopeful tome and vision for a multi-cultural society had come to fruition many years after he prophetically recorded the song, which is a cipher for righteous causes seeking change, equality and justice.

All bios appear as they were submitted in the year of induction or award presentation.