Sam Cooke first performed A Change is Gonna Come on February 7, 1964 on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Afterwards, Cooke decided never to perform the song again because of its complex orchestral arrangement and what he saw as the ominous nature of the lyrics.

There is no recording of this unique performance, but people who watched it suggested that its impact on audiences was equal to that of the celebrated Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show two days later.

In December 1964 an edited version of the song was scheduled as the B-side to single Shake. Two weeks ahead of its release, Cooke was fatally shot at a hotel in Los Angeles.

A Change is Gonna Come became a standard of the soul repertoire, recorded by Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Supremes and more. The civil rights movement immediately picked up on the song and it became one of its anthems.

🎙️ Soundtracking history 📻 Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come performed by Beverley Knight at Soul Revolution, a very special night at the #BBCProms.

Introduced and co-curated by Trevor Nelson, this powerful concert traces the musical path of the civil rights movement in the United States from spirituals through gospel to soul.

Incredible singers - Beverley Knight, Jacob Lusk, Reginald Mobley, Annahstasia, James Emmanuel, Tony Momrelle, Yomi Sode and the LJ Singers - join conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and the BBC Concert Orchestra to celebrate music that soundtracked history; with hits by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and more.

📺 Watch Soul Revolution with Trevor Nelson on #iPlayer now.