Monday, January 18, 2010

In Honor of MLK Jr. Day!


Sam Cooke

Album: Sam Cooke at the Copa
Song: This Little Light of Mine

Folklorist and activist Zilphia Horton did a wonderful thing when she introduced this children's gospel song to the civil-rights movement in the 1950s. In the mid-'60s, vocalist Sam Cooke did something equally wonderful, and much more amazing. He took this song that people were singing at sit-ins and marches and brought it into America's toniest nightclubs, putting the music of The Movement in front of an audience that probably didn't spend much time at sit-ins and marches. Cooke performed this joyful and uplifting version of "This Little Light of Mine" in 1964 in New York's Copacabana.

1 comment:

Jess said...

I love all the music especially Nina Simone and Sam Cooke. Thanks for the link!