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It was 40 years ago today: MLK and the Staples
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assasination by the coward James Earl Ray. For the past ten years or so I’ve marked this sad occasion by playing my alltime favorite CD “Freedom Highway” by the Staple Singers. There’s the gritty Delta blues guitar of Pops Staples, laying it down for Mavis and Cleotha to take those spirituals back to Mississippi and Alabama with a dire sense of purpose. For me, the Staple Singers provided the soundtrack of the civil rights movement- a proud and humble family group, grounded in God’s groove, but soaring vocally to find a better world.
The CD reissue is named after a 1965 album, recorded live at Chicago’s New Nazareth Church and dedicated to the freedom marchers in Selma, AL. But my beloved CD contains only two tracks from the original “Freedom Highway,” including the title track. I’d never heard the original version.
Not until this morning. A fellow black gospel nut emailed me files of the original “Freedom Highway” to download. Thank you, Mike! It’s everything I hoped it would be and more, as the audience members clap along to create a riveting polyrhythm, culminating in the church choir joining in on the best version of “We Shall Overcome” I’ve ever heard. Go here to download side two, which also contains a great version of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Go here to download side one. Believe me, there’s no better way to musically lend context to this sad and senseless anniversary.
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By RJ
April 5, 2008 4:36 AM | Link to this
That music is amazing - thank you for posting!
By RMorris
April 21, 2011 11:48 AM | Link to this
Hi - Could anybody send me a copy/link for the original Live 1965 LP - the links on this site are dead. Thanks!!!