One of the interesting things about Barack Obama is the way he uses language from his predecessors. This has been historically a part of great American political rhetoric, but missing for a while. People talk about his mentions of Lincoln; his use of very close paraphrase of Lincoln’s rhetoric is a major element of his speaking style.
In today’s Chicago Sun-Times, there is an article about another element in Obama’s rhetoric: Chicago soul, as exemplified by Sam Cooke, the Staples, and Curtis Mayfield (I’ll point out that the first two are products of Mississippi and remind folks that Mavis Staples is going to be at the Ford Center in Oxford on February 27th!). The most obvious is Obama’s use of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” in his speech on election night.
H/T to Scott Barretta at Highway 61 radio for the link.
One of the most common covers in soul music is ”A Change Is Gonna Come,” I think. There are memorable versions by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and Aaron Neville. Here’s Al Green backed by Booker T and the MGs (which is why it brings to mind Otis Redding) doing it in 1995 at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert.
