The soundtrack to America’s civil rights movement before the mid-1960s was predominantly made up of gospel standards and spirituals, with a smattering of popular folk. But by the late 1960s, music was changing right along with the political landscape.
Just as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X parted ways in their philosophies of how to fight for equality, R&B diverged into soul and funk. Not satisfied with waiting for incremental change while holding hands and singing songs dating from the age of legal slavery, the Black Power political movement had a natural corollary in music.
Although its roots can be traced back beginning as far back as Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” (nothing genteel about that one) through Sam Cooke’s inspired “A Change is Gonna Come,” the soundtrack of Black Power had harder-driving rhythms with less conciliatory lyrics. “We Shall Overcome” was replaced by Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddamn” and James Brown’s ecstatic “Say it Loud! I’m Black and I’m Proud.” Other critical tracks include “Am I Black Enough for You,” by Billy Paul; “Message from a Black Man” by the Temptations; and even John Coltrane’s jazz instrumental “Alabama.” It also gave rise to groups like The Last Poets and The Watts Prophets, whose African percussion-backed spoken-word declarations were both righteous and coarse.
Check out our virtual mixtape of soul, funk, and jazz tunes and audio clips from that period.
WARNING: Some of the songs on this list contain language that some may find objectionable. They are included to illustrate the political climate and breadth of rhetoric in the movement.
(Requires the Spotify application, available free to download).
Listen: The Black Power Mixtape
| ARTIST | TRACK |
|---|---|
Blues, Funk & Soul |
|
| Billie Holiday | Strange Fruit |
| Sam Cooke | A Change Is Gonna Come |
| Nina Simone | By Any Means Necessary (Interview) |
| Nina Simone | Mississippi Goddamn |
| Donny Hathaway | To Be Young, Gifted And Black |
| Aretha Franklin | Respect |
| James Brown | Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud |
| The Meters | A Message From The Meters |
| The Impressions | We’re A Winner |
| Sly & The Family Stone | Everyday People |
| The Temptations | Message From A Black Man |
| Gregory Isaacs | Black Liberation Struggle |
| The Staple Singers | Respect Yourself |
| Marvin Gaye | You’re The Man |
| Etta James | Tell It Like It Is |
| Donny Hathaway | Someday We’ll All Be Free |
| Curtis Mayfield | Mighty Mighty – Spade And Whitey |
| The Isley Brothers | Fight The Power – Part 1 & 2 |
| The O’Jays | Give The People What They Want |
| The Chi-Lites | Give More Power To The People |
| Billy Paul | Am I Black Enough For You? |
| Parliament | Chocolate City |
| Stevie Wonder | Living For The City |
| Sly & The Family Stone | Don’t Call Me N****r, Whitey |
| The Temptations | Ball of Confusion |
| Marvin Gaye | Save The Children |
| Eddie Kendricks | My People … Hold On |
| Segments Of Time | Message To The System |
| Nina Simone | Tell It Like It Is |
| William DeVaughn | Be Thankful for What You Got |
| Earth, Wind & Fire | Mighty Mighty |
| Johnnie Taylor | I Am Somebody, Parts 1 & 2 |
| Marvin Gaye | Right On – Detroit Mix |
| Les McCann & Eddie Harris | Compared To What |
| Syl Johnson | Is It Because I’m Black |
| Elaine Brown | The Panther |
Jazz |
|
| Max Roach | Freedom Day |
| John Coltrane | Alabama |
| Archie Shepp | Blues For Brother George Jackson |
| Joe Mcphee | Nation Time |
Spoken Word and Other |
|
| The Last Poets | N*****s Are Scared Of Revolution |
| The Last Poets | When The Revolution Comes |
| The Watts Prophets | I’ll Stop Callin’ You N*****s (Skit) |
| Black Panther Kids | Power to the People, Free Our People |
| Prison Radio Project | Black Panthers, Cointelpro & Repression Inside |
| Prison Radio Project | Black Power & The Global Revolution |
Sources: Soul-Patrol African American Music and Culture Database; Black Power: Music of a Revolution; Keep on Pushing: Black Power Music from Blues to Hip-Hop, by Denise Sullivan; Smithsonian Folkways