text:
Light-independent reactions
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See also: Light-dependent reactions
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The internal structure of a chloroplast
The light-independent reactions, or dark reactions,[1] of photosynthesis are chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and other compounds into glucose. These reactions occur in the stroma, the fluid-filled area of a chloroplast outside the thylakoid membranes. These reactions take the products (ATP and NADPH) of light-dependent reactions and perform further chemical processes on them. There are three phases to the light-independent reactions, collectively called the Calvin cycle: carbon fixation, reduction reactions, and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) regeneration.
This process occurs without light availability. Plants do not carry out the Calvin cycle during nighttime. They instead release sucrose into the phloem from their starch reserves. This process happens when light is available independent of the kind of photosynthesis (C3 carbon fixation, C4 carbon fixation, and Crassulacean acid metabolism); CAM plants store malic acid in their vacuoles every night and release it by day to make this process work. They are also known as dark reactions.[2]
Contents
1 Coupling to other metabolic pathways
1.1 Steps
1.2 Products
2 Light-dependent regulation
3 References
4 Further reading
5 External links
Coupling to other metabolic pathways [edit]
These reactions are closely coupled to the thylakoid electron transport chain as reducing power provided by NADPH produced in the photosystem I is actively needed. The process of photorespiration, also known as C2 cycle, is also coupled to the dark reactions, as it results from an alternative reaction of the RuBisCO enzyme, and its final byproduct is also another glyceraldehyde-3-P.
Overview of the Calvin cycle and carbon fixation
The Calvin cycle, Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle, reductive pentose phosphate cycle or C3 cycle is a series of biochemical redox reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplast in photosynthetic organisms.
The cycle was discovered by Melvin Calvin, James Bassham, and Andrew Benson at the University of California, Berkeley[3] by using the radioactive isotope carbon-14.
Photosynthesis occurs in two stages in a cell. In the first stage, light-dependent reactions capture the energy of light and use it to make the energy-storage and transport molecules ATP and NADPH. The Calvin cycle uses the energy from short-lived electronically excited carriers to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds[4] that can be used by the organism (and by animals that feed on it). This set of reactions is also called carbon fixation. The key enzyme of the cycle is called RuBisCO. In the following biochemical equations, the chemical species (phosphates and carboxylic acids) exist in equilibria among their various ionized states as governed by the pH.
The enzymes in the Calvin cycle are functionally equivalent to most enzymes used in other metabolic pathways such as gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway, but they are found in the chloroplast stroma instead of the cell cytosol, separating the reactions. They are activated in the light (which is why the name "dark reaction" is misleading), and also by products of the light-dependent reaction. These regulatory functions prevent the Calvin cycle from being respired to carbon dioxide. Energy (in the form of ATP) would be wasted in carrying out these reactions that have no net productivity.
The sum of reactions in the Calvin cycle is the following:
3 CO
2 + 6 NADPH + 6 H+ + 9 ATP → glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) + 6 NADP+ + 9 ADP + 3 H
2O + 8 Pi (Pi = inorganic phosphate)
Hexose (six-carbon) sugars are not a product of the Calvin cycle. Although many texts list a product of photosynthesis as C
6H
12O
6, this is mainly a convenience to counter the equation of respiration, where six-carbon sugars are oxidized in mitochondria. The carbohydrate products of the Calvin cycle are three-carbon sugar phosphate molecules, or "triose phosphates", namely, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P).
Steps[edit]
In the first stage of the Calvin cycle, a CO2 molecule is incorporated into one of two three-carbon molecules (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate or G3P), where it uses up two molecules of ATP and two molecules of NADPH, which had been produced in the light-dependent stage. The three steps involved are:
Calvin cycle step 1 (black circles represent carbon atoms)
Calvin cycle steps 2 and 3 combined
The enzyme RuBisCO catalyses the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, RuBP, a 5-carbon compound, by carbon dioxide (a total of 6 carbons) in a two-step reaction.[5] The product of the first step is enediol-enzyme complex that can capture CO
2 or O
2. Thus, enediol-enzyme complex is the real carboxylase/oxygenase. The CO
2 that is captured by enediol in second step produces an unstable six-carbon compound called 2-carboxy 3-keto 1,5-biphosphoribotol (or 3-keto-2-carboxyarabinitol 1,5-bisphosphate) that immediately splits into 2 molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate, or 3-PGA, a 3-carbon compound[6] (also: 3-phosphoglyceric acid, PGA, 3PGA).
The enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase catalyses the phosphorylation of 3-PGA by ATP (which was produced in the light-dependent stage). 1,3-Bisphosphoglycerate (1,3BPGA, glycerate-1,3-bisphosphate) and ADP are the products. (However, note that two 3-PGAs are produced for every CO
2 that enters the cycle, so this step utilizes two ATP per CO
2 fixed.)
The enzyme glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase catalyses the reduction of 1,3BPGA by NADPH (which is another product of the light-dependent stage). Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (also called G3P, GP, TP, PGAL, GAP) is produced, and the NADPH itself is oxidized and becomes NADP+. Again, two NADPH are utilized per CO
2 fixed.
Regeneration stage of the Calvin cycle
The next stage in the Calvin cycle is to regenerate RuBP. Five G3P molecules produce three RuBP molecules, using up three molecules of ATP. Since each CO2 molecule produces two G3P molecules, three CO2 molecules produce six G3P molecules, of which five are used to regenerate RuBP, leaving a net gain of one G3P molecule per three CO2 molecules (as would be expected from the number of carbon atoms involved).
Simplified C3 cycle with structural formulas
The regeneration stage can be broken down into steps.
Triose phosphate isomerase converts all of the G3P reversibly into dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), also a 3-carbon molecule.
Aldolase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase convert a G3P and a DHAP into fructose 6-phosphate (6C). A phosphate ion is lost into solution.
Then fixation of another CO
2 generates two more G3P.
F6P has two carbons removed by transketolase, giving erythrose-4-phosphate. The two carbons on transketolase are added to a G3P, giving the ketose xylulose-5-phosphate (Xu5P).
E4P and a DHAP (formed from one of the G3P from the second CO
2 fixation) are converted into sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphate (7C) by aldolase enzyme.
Sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (one of only three enzymes of the Calvin cycle that are unique to plants) cleaves sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphate into sedoheptulose-7-phosphate, releasing an inorganic phosphate ion into solution.
Fixation of a third CO
2 generates two more G3P. The ketose S7P has two carbons removed by transketolase, giving ribose-5-phosphate (R5P), and the two carbons remaining on transketolase are transferred to one of the G3P, giving another Xu5P. This leaves one G3P as the product of fixation of 3 CO
2, with generation of three pentoses that can be converted to Ru5P.
R5P is converted into ribulose-5-phosphate (Ru5P, RuP) by phosphopentose isomerase. Xu5P is converted into RuP by phosphopentose epimerase.
Finally, phosphoribulokinase (another plant-unique enzyme of the pathway) phosphorylates RuP into RuBP, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, completing the Calvin cycle. This requires the input of one ATP.
Thus, of six G3P produced, five are used to make three RuBP (5C) molecules (totaling 15 carbons), with only one G3P available for subsequent conversion to hexose. This requires nine ATP molecules and six NADPH molecules per three CO
2 molecules. The equation of the overall Calvin cycle is shown diagrammatically below.
The overall equation of the Calvin cycle (black circles represent carbon atoms)
RuBisCO also reacts competitively with O
2 instead of CO
2 in photorespiration. The rate of photorespiration is higher at high temperatures. Photorespiration turns RuBP into 3-PGA and 2-phosphoglycolate, a 2-carbon molecule that can be converted via glycolate and glyoxalate to glycine. Via the glycine cleavage system and tetrahydrofolate, two glycines are converted into serine +CO
2. Serine can be converted back to 3-phosphoglycerate. Thus, only 3 of 4 carbons from two phosphoglycolates can be converted back to 3-PGA. It can be seen that photorespiration has very negative consequences for the plant, because, rather than fixing CO
2, this process leads to loss of CO
2. C4 carbon fixation evolved to circumvent photorespiration, but can occur only in certain plants native to very warm or tropical climates—corn, for example.
Products[edit]
The immediate products of one turn of the Calvin cycle are 2 glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) molecules, 3 ADP, and 2 NADP+. (ADP and NADP+ are not really "products." They are regenerated and later used again in the Light-dependent reactions). Each G3P molecule is composed of 3 carbons. For the Calvin cycle to continue, RuBP (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) must be regenerated. So, 5 out of 6 carbons from the 2 G3P molecules are used for this purpose. Therefore, there is only 1 net carbon produced to play with for each turn. To create 1 surplus G3P requires 3 carbons, and therefore 3 turns of the Calvin cycle. To make one glucose molecule (which can be created from 2 G3P molecules) would require 6 turns of the Calvin cycle. Surplus G3P can also be used to form other carbohydrates such as starch, sucrose, and cellulose, depending on what the plant needs.[7]
Light-dependent regulation[edit]
Main article: Light-dependent reactions
These reactions do not occur in the dark or at night. There is a light-dependent regulation of the cycle enzymes, as the third step requires reduced NADP.
There are two regulation systems at work when the cycle must be turned on or off: the thioredoxin/ferredoxin activation system, which activates some of the cycle enzymes; and the RuBisCo enzyme activation, active in the Calvin cycle, which involves its own activase.
The thioredoxin/ferredoxin system activates the enzymes glyceraldehyde-3-P dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-P phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase, and ribulose-5-phosphatase kinase, which are key points of the process. This happens when light is available, as the ferredoxin protein is reduced in the photosystem I complex of the thylakoid electron chain when electrons are circulating through it.[8] Ferredoxin then binds to and reduces the thioredoxin protein, which activates the cycle enzymes by severing a cystine bond found in all these enzymes. This is a dynamic process as the same bond is formed again by other proteins that deactivate the enzymes. The implications of this process are that the enzymes remain mostly activated by day and are deactivated in the dark when there is no more reduced ferredoxin available.
The enzyme RuBisCo has its own, more complex activation process. It requires that a specific lysine amino acid be carbamylated to activate the enzyme. This lysine binds to RuBP and leads to a non-functional state if left uncarbamylated. A specific activase enzyme, called RuBisCo activase, helps this carbamylation process by removing one proton from the lysine and making the binding of the carbon dioxide molecule possible. Even then the RuBisCo enzyme is not yet functional, as it needs a magnesium ion bound to the lysine to function. This magnesium ion is released from the thylakoid lumen when the inner pH drops due to the active pumping of protons from the electron flow. RuBisCo activase itself is activated by increased concentrations of ATP in the stroma caused by its phosphorylation.
References[edit]
Citations
Jump up ^ Silverstein, Alvin (2008). Photosynthesis. Twenty-First Century Books. p. 21. ISBN 9780822567981.
Jump up ^ John C. Cushman (2001). "A Plastic Photosynthetic Adaptation to Arid Environments". Plant Physiology. 127 (4): 1439–1448. doi:10.1104/pp.010818. PMC 1540176  . PMID 11743087.
Jump up ^ Bassham J, Benson A, Calvin M (1950). "The path of carbon in photosynthesis" (PDF). J Biol Chem. 185 (2): 781–7. doi:10.2172/910351. PMID 14774424.
Jump up ^ Campbell, Neil A.; Brad Williamson; Robin J. Heyden (2006). Biology: Exploring Life. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-250882-6.
Jump up ^ Farazdaghi H (2009). "Modeling the Kinetics of Activation and Reaction of RuBisCO from Gas Exchange". Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration. 29 (IV): 275–294. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9237-4_12.
Jump up ^ Campbell, and Reece Biology: 8th Edition, page 198. Benjamin Cummings, December 7, 2007.
Jump up ^ Russell, Wolfe et al.Biology: Exploring the Diversity of Life'.Toronto:Nelson College Indigenous,1st ed, Vol. 1, 2010, pg 151
Jump up ^ Besse, I; Buchanan, B (1997). "Thioredoxin-linked animal and plant processes: the new generation". Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. 38: 1–11.
Bibliography
Bassham JA (2003). "Mapping the carbon reduction cycle: a personal retrospective". Photosyn. Res. 76 (1-3): 35–52. doi:10.1023/A:1024929725022. PMID 16228564.
Diwan, Joyce J. (2005). "Photosynthetic Dark Reaction". Biochemistry and Biophysics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Portis, Archie; Parry, Martin (2007). "Discoveries in Rubisco (Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase): a historical perspective" (PDF). Photosynthesis Research. 94 (1): 121–143. doi:10.1007/s11120-007-9225-6. PMID 17665149. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-12
Further reading[edit]
Rubisco Activase, from the Plant Physiology Online website
Thioredoxins, from the Plant Physiology Online website
External links[edit]
The Biochemistry of the Calvin Cycle at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
The Calvin Cycle and the Pentose Phosphate Pathway from Biochemistry, Fifth Edition by Jeremy M. Berg, John L. Tymoczko and Lubert Stryer. Published by W. H. Freeman and Company (2002).
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A Change Is Gonna Come
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
For other uses, see A Change Is Gonna Come (disambiguation).
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
Single by Sam Cooke
from the album Ain't That Good News
A-side
"Shake"
Released
December 22, 1964 (1964-12-22)
Format
7-inch single
Recorded
January 30, 1964
Studio
RCA, Hollywood, California
Genre
Rhythm and blues
soul
Length
3:11
Label
RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)
Sam Cooke
Producer(s)
Hugo & Luigi
Sam Cooke singles chronology
"Cousin of Mine"
(1964) "A Change Is Gonna Come"
(1964) "It's Got The Whole World Shakin'"
(1965)
"Cousin of Mine"
(1964) "A Change Is Gonna Come"
(1964) "It's Got The Whole World Shakin'"
(1965)
"A Change Is Gonna Come" is a song by American recording artist Sam Cooke. It initially appeared on Cooke's album Ain't That Good News, released March 1, 1964 by RCA Victor; a slightly edited version of the recording was released as a single on December 22, 1964. Produced by Hugo & Luigi and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the B-side to "Shake".
The song was inspired by various personal events in Cooke's life, most prominently an event in which he and his entourage were turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana. Cooke felt compelled to write a song that spoke to his struggle and of those around him, and that pertained to the Civil Rights Movement and African Americans. The song contains the refrain, "It's been a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come."
Though only a modest hit for Cooke in comparison with his previous singles, "A Change Is Gonna Come" is widely considered Cooke's best composition and has been voted among the best songs ever released by various publications. In 2007, the song was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress, with the National Recording Registry deeming the song "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important."[1]
Contents
1 Background
2 Recording and production
3 Composition
4 Personnel
5 Release
5.1 Cover versions
6 Media usage
7 Chart history (Sam Cooke version)
8 Bibliography
9 References
10 External links
Background[edit]
On October 8, 1963, en route to Shreveport, Louisiana, Cooke called ahead to the Holiday Inn North to make reservations for his wife, Barbara, and himself, but when he and his group arrived, the desk clerk glanced nervously and explained there were no vacancies.[2] While his brother Charles protested, Sam was fuming, yelling to see the manager and refusing to leave until he received an answer. His wife nudged him, attempting to calm him down, telling him, "They'll kill you," to which he responded, "They ain't gonna kill me, because I'm Sam Cooke."[2] When they eventually persuaded Cooke to leave, the group drove away calling out insults and blaring their horns. When they arrived at the Castle Motel on Sprague Street downtown, the police were waiting for them, arresting them for disturbing the peace.[2] The New York Times ran an AP report the following day headlined "Negro Band Leader Held in Shreveport," but African-Americans were outraged, leading to the creation of a myth surrounding the incident, exaggerating parts of the story and fabricating others.[3]
In addition, upon hearing Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" in 1963, Cooke was greatly moved that such a poignant song about racism in America could come from someone who was not black, and was also ashamed he had not yet written something like that himself.[4] However, his image and fears of losing his largely white fan base prevented him from doing so.[5] Cooke loved the song so much it was immediately incorporated into his repertoire.[6]
Recording and production[edit]
Following Christmas 1963, Cooke invited J.W. Alexander to his home to preview a new song he had just written, one Cooke was very excited about. When he arrived, Cooke ran through the number on his guitar twice, the second time going over it line by line.[7] Both were very excited to record the song, with Alexander viewing it more personal and political than anything he had yet attempted. He warned Cooke that he may not profit off the song as he had with lighter, poppier songs, but Cooke did not care.[8] He explained to Alexander that he hoped the song would make his father proud.[8] "It was less work than any song he'd ever written," biographer Peter Guralnick says.[6] "It almost scared him that the song — it was almost as if the song were intended for somebody else. He grabbed it out of the air and it came to him whole, despite the fact that in many ways it's probably the most complex song that he wrote. It was both singular — in the sense that you started out, 'I was born by the river' — but it also told the story both of a generation and of a people."[6]
Cooke handed the song to his arranger René Hall, with no specific instructions as to what he personally wanted, but to give it “the kind of instrumentation and orchestration that it demanded.”[9] Previously, the duo had collaborated on arrangement, but this was the first occasion in which Hall was granted complete control of the eventual arrangement, and he composed it as he would a movie score, with lush, symphonic strings.[9] "I wanted it to be the greatest thing in my [life]—I spent a lot of time, put out a lot of ideas, and then changed them and rearranged them," said Hall.[9] Cooke was well known as a perfectionist and "control freak" in the recording studio, so giving Hall total latitude was unprecedented.[6]
AFO drummer John Boudreaux was intimidated by the orchestral arrangement and refused to leave the control room; session player and close collaborator Earl Palmer was working next door and filled in for the song. Luigi Creatore asked Cooke to provide one more take, and the eighth take was "nearly perfect."[10] Luigi was very pleased with the song, considering it among his best, both very serious and still uniquely his own. Cooke had initially imagined that Luigi, first and foremost a pop hitmaker, would not respect the socially conscious song.[10]
Composition[edit]
"A Change Is Gonna Come"
A sound sample of "A Change Is Gonna Come," emphasizing the song's lush, orchestral accompaniment.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Each verse is a different movement, with the horns carrying the first, the strings the second, and the timpani carrying the bridge.[6] The French horn present in the recording was intended to convey a sense of melancholy.[9]
Cooke incorporated his own personal experiences as well into the song, such as encounters in Memphis, Shreveport and Birmingham, to reflect the lives and struggles of all African-Americans of the time.[8] The lines "I don't know what's up there / Beyond the sky" could refer to Cooke's doubt for absolute true justice on earth.[8] The final verse, in which Cooke pleads for his "brother" to help him, is a metaphor for what Alexander described as "the establishment" The verse continues, 'But he winds up knocking me / back down on my knees.'"[8]
Personnel[edit]
"A Change Is Gonna Come" was recorded on January 30, 1964, at RCA Studios in Hollywood, California.[11] The engineer present was Wally Heider, and the session was conducted and arranged by René Hall. The musicians also recorded "Falling in Love" the same day. Credits adapted from the liner notes to the 2003 compilation Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964.[11]
Sam Cooke – lead vocals
SR Crain – backing vocals
Paul Foster – backing vocals
Jimmie Outler – backing vocals
Richard Gibbs – backing vocals
JJ Farley – backing vocals
René Hall – guitar
Norman Bartold – guitar
Arnold Belnick – guitar
Clifton White – guitar
Chuck Badie – bass guitar
Earl Palmer – drums
Harold Battiste – piano
William Hinshaw – French horn
Emil Radocchia – marimba, timpani, percussion
William Kurasch – trumpet
Louis Blackburn – trombone
John Ewing – trombone
David Wells – trombone
Harry Hyams – viola
Alexander Neiman – viola
Israel Baker – violin
Irving Lipschultz – violin
Leonard Malarsky – violin
Jack Pepper – violin
Ralph Schaeffer – violin
Sidney Sharp – violin
Darrel Terwilliger – violin
Tibor Zelig – violin
Emmet Sargeant – cello
Release[edit]
Cooke first performed "A Change Is Gonna Come" on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on February 7, 1964. Cooke’s new manager, Allen Klein, was infatuated with the song and persuaded Cooke to do away with promoting his most recent single, "Ain't That Good News", and perform "Change" instead, feeling that that was the statement he needed to make before a national audience.[12] Cooke objected, noting that the album’s release was a month away and that he had no time to pull together an arrangement within such a short time frame.[12] Klein arranged for RCA to pay for a full string section and Cooke performed the song that Friday on The Tonight Show after performing "Basin Street".[13] An NBC timekeeper logged down the number as "It's a Long Time Coming," but the network did not save the tape of the performance.[12][13] Klein and Alexander both felt it would become a milestone moment in Cooke's career, but it was overshadowed by the Beatles' performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS just two days later.[13]
The song was issued on March 1 as a track on Cooke's album Ain't That Good News. It would not be issued as a single for another nine months.
Cooke elected not to perform "A Change Is Gonna Come" again in his lifetime, both because of the complexity of the arrangement and because of the ominous nature of the song.[6] When shown to his protégé Bobby Womack, his response was that it sounds "like death." Cooke responded, "Man, that's kind of how it sounds like to me. That's why I'm never going to play it in public." Womack clarified his thoughts, that it wasn’t deathly, but rather "spooky," but Cooke never performed the song again.[6]
In December, "A Change Is Gonna Come" was prepared for single release, with the verse and chorus preceding the bridge ("I go to the movies…") deleted for radio airplay.[14] The civil rights movement picked up on "A Change Is Gonna Come" with near immediacy.[6] On December 11, 1964, two weeks before the song was released, Sam Cooke was fatally shot at a Los Angeles motel.[15]
"A Change Is Gonna Come" became an anthem for the Civil Rights Movement, and is widely considered Cooke's best composition. Over the years, the song has garnered significant praise and, in 2005, was voted number 12 by representatives of the music industry and press in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and voted number 3 in the webzine Pitchfork Media's The 200 Greatest Songs of the 60s. The song is also among three hundred songs deemed the most important ever recorded by National Public Radio (NPR) and was recently selected by the Library of Congress as one of twenty-five selected recordings to the National Recording Registry as of March 2007. The song is currently ranked as the 46th greatest song of all time, as well as the third best song of 1964, by Acclaimed Music.[16] NPR called the song "one of the most important songs of the civil rights era."[6]
Despite its acclaim, legal troubles have haunted the single since its release. A dispute between Cooke's music publisher, ABKCO, and record company, RCA Records, made the recording unavailable for much of the four decades since its release. Although the song was featured prominently in the 1992 film Malcolm X, it could not be included in the film's soundtrack. By 2003, however, the disputes had been settled in time for the song to be included on the remastered version of Ain't That Good News, as well as the Cooke anthology Portrait of a Legend.[citation needed]
A live rendition was included in the soundtrack to the 2001 Michael Mann film Ali. James Taylor recorded a version specially for an episode of the same title of the television drama The West Wing. The Allman Brothers Band captured their performance of the song on their 2003 DVD Live at the Beacon Theatre.[citation needed]
Cover versions[edit]
Other notable artists who have covered the song include:
Gerald Alston 2008
Baby Huey on The Baby Huey Story 1971
The Band 1973
George Benson 1979
Wayne Brady 2008
Billy Bragg 2006
Brandy
Solomon Burke 1986
John Boutte 2001
Tony Carey
the Cold War Kids 2007
Terence Trent D'Arby
Gavin DeGraw 2003
Matt Doyle
Bob Dylan 1979
Everlast 2011
The 5th Dimension (in a 1970 medley with The Rascals' "People Got to Be Free")
Aretha Franklin from "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You" 1967
the Fugees 1996
Jeffrey Gaines
The Gits
Al Green 1996
Greta Van Fleet 2017
Deitrick Haddon
Morten Harket
Beth Hart[17]
jacksoul 2006
Leela James 2005
R. Kelly
Evelyn Champagne King 1985
Patti LaBelle 1998
The Manhattans
Allison Moorer
The Neville Brothers 1989
Graham Parker 1989
Billy Preston 1981
James & Bobby Purify 1967
Prince Buster 2016
Otis Redding 1965
Michael Thompson featuring Bobby Womack 1976
The Righteous Brothers (Bobby Hatfield solo) 1966
Seal and Arcade Fire, who used the song in support of Barack Obama's nomination for President of the United States.
Ben Sollee
Solo 1995
The Supremes 1965
Seal (singer) 2008
Three Dog Night 1969
Tina Turner 1988
Luther Vandross
Cory Wells
Canned Heat performed live at Woodstock, 1969

In recent years, the song has served as a sample for rappers Ghostface Killah (1996), Ja Rule (2003), Papoose (2006), Lil Wayne (2007) "Long Time Coming (remix)" Charles Hamilton, Asher Roth, and B.o.B (2009), and Nas's It Was Written album also features a similar opening as the song. On their album The Reunion hip-hop artists Capone-N-Noreaga used an excerpt from the song on the opening track which shares the same title as the Cooke original. British soul singer Beverley Knight says the song is her all-time favorite and has performed it live many a time; most notably on 'Later with Jools Holland'. On May 6, 2008, during the seventh season of American Idol, the song was sung by contestant Syesha Mercado as the remaining top 4. It was also sung by Joshua Ledet during the Top 7 episode of season 11 (2012), for which he received a standing ovation from the audience.[18] After winning the 2008 United States presidential election, Barack Obama referred to the song, stating to his supporters in Chicago, "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, change has come to America." A duet of the song by Bettye LaVette and Jon Bon Jovi was included in We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. In Washington DC, in the days leading up to the Inauguration of Barack Obama, this song could be heard played constantly in the city centre.
In 2004, Patti LaBelle performed the song on the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert to a standing ovation.
Julian Casablancas, lead singer of popular rock band The Strokes, has cited "A Change Is Gonna Come" as his favorite song of all time.
In 2009, Aaron Neville, along with the Mt. Zion Mass Choir, released a version of the song “A Change Is Gonna Come” on the compilation album Oh Happy Day.[19]
American Idol creator/producer Simon Fuller selected the song for contestant Adam Lambert to sing in the season 8 finale in May, 2009. It was also covered by season 9 semifinalist Lilly Scott in March 2010.
In 2010, one of the finalists of the British The X Factor, Rebecca Ferguson, sang the song for her audition, impressing judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and guest judge Nicole Scherzinger.
The song was performed in the 2011 Miss America Pageant by Miss Kentucky, Djuan Trent.
In 2011, jazz group Afro-Blue performed the song on The Sing-off by request of the judges. The same year, Everlast recorded a version of the song for his album Songs of the Ungrateful Living. Maverick Sabre covered the song on his 2012 album Lonely Are the Brave
On January 1, 2012, the song was the last single to be played on the New Zealand radio station Solid Gold FM before the station rebranded.
On June 1, 2013 Beyoncé Knowles sang the song during The Sound of Change Live concert in London, as part of Chime for Change, an organization which supports total equality between women and men in all areas of life. Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone magazine noted that Knowles belted out the song,[20] while Alice Vincent from The Daily Telegraph noted that the rendition of the song reflected the event's purpose.[21] Later, on July 20, 2013, Knowles performed the song during a stop in Detroit as part of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. The performance followed the city's recent file for bankruptcy. As Knowles performed, the screen behind her displayed photos of Detroit's landmarks and icons including Aretha Franklin, Aaliyah, Eminem, Anita Baker, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, The White Stripes, Berry Gordy, Jr, Joe Louis. The montage ended with the declaration "Nothing Stops Detroit!" and Knowles closed the performance by saying "I love you, Detroit".[22][23][24] A spokesperson for the singer described the performance as a "unique tribute to the history of an incredible city and a celebration of the strong spirit of its people".[23] A black-and-white video of the cover was uploaded on Knowles' official YouTube channel on July 30, 2013. It closes with a quote from Henry Ford: “Failure is simply the opportunity to start over, this time more intelligently."[24] A reporter for The Huffington Post reported that the singer's "heartfelt" cover of the song "touched" her fans and the people who loved Detroit.[25] Latifah Muhammad of the Black Entertainment Television wrote that Knowles' "powerful" rendition of the song came right on time.[26] An editor for Essence described Knowles' cover as a "moving tribute to Detroit".[27] Jordan Sargent of Spin wrote, "It all might come off as a bit heavy-handed if it wasn't for the fact that, well, Beyonce absolutely slays the cover."[28] Lauren Moraski from CBS News described the tribute to the city as "touching".[29] In 2013 15-year-old Dwayne Cooke released a video of himself singing "A Change Gonna Come" on YouTube which has gone viral on Facebook and other social networking sites...[30]
Media usage[edit]
Many stations have played this song to signal the moment of format change (e.g. when KSOC 94.5 in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX changed from urban AC to urban oldies in July 2011).[31]
Chart history (Sam Cooke version)[edit]
Chart (1965)
Peak
position
Billboard R&B Singles Chart 9
Billboard Hot 100 31
Bibliography[edit]
Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964. Abkco Records, 2003. Los Angeles, California.
Werner, Craig (1999). A Change Is Gonna Come: Music, Race, and the Soul of America. Plume. ISBN 0-452-28065-6.
Wolff, Daniel J.; S.R. Crain; Clifton White & G. David Tenenbaum (1995). You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke. William Morrow & Co. ISBN 0-688-12403-8.
Guralnick, Peter (2005). Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. Back Bay Books. ISBN 978-0316013291.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Cannady, S. 2007, Recordings by Historical Figures and Musical Legends Added To the 2006 National Recording Registry: Library of Congress Accepting Nominations for the 2007 Registry, viewed May 9, 2017
^ Jump up to: a b c Guralnick 2005, p. 526.
Jump up ^ Guralnick 2005, p. 527.
Jump up ^ Guralnick 2005, p. 512.
Jump up ^ Guralnick 2005, p. 513.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Sam Cooke And The Song That 'Almost Scared Him'". NPR (National Public Radio). February 1, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
Jump up ^ Guralnick 2005, p. 540.
^ Jump up to: a b c d e Guralnick 2005, p. 541.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Guralnick 2005, p. 547.
^ Jump up to: a b Guralnick 2005, p. 548.
^ Jump up to: a b Portrait of a Legend: 1951–1964 (liner notes). Sam Cooke. US: ABKCO Records. 2003. 92642.
^ Jump up to: a b c Guralnick 2005, p. 550.
^ Jump up to: a b c Guralnick 2005, p. 552.
Jump up ^ Guralnick 2005, p. 607.
Jump up ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
Jump up ^ "Acclaimed Music Top 3000 songs". 27 May 2009.
Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDTei_wdm3U
Jump up ^ Joshua Ledet Earns TWO Standing Ovations on American Idol (VIDEO)
Jump up ^ "Jon Bon Jovi, Queen Latifah go gospel for "Day"". Reuters. March 27, 2009.
Jump up ^ Sutherland, Mark (June 1, 2013). "Beyonce Leads a Charge of Powerful Women at Sound of Change". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Vincent, Alice (June 2, 2013). "Beyoncé, Sound of Change Live, Twickenham Stadium, review". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Beyoncé dedicates 'A Change is Gonna Come' to Detroit". Rap-Up. July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Graff, Gary (July 21, 2013). "Beyoncé Pays Tribute to Motor City: 'Nothing Stops Detroit!'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Graham, Adam (August 1, 2013). "Grapevine: Beyonce's 'Change' hits online". The Detroit News. MediaNews Group. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Beyonce Releases Powerful Detroit Dedication, Cover Of Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
Jump up ^ Muhammad, Latifah (July 22, 2013). "Beyoncé Sings "A Change Is Gonna Come" in Detroit". Black Entertainment Television. BET Networks. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Must-See: Beyoncé Dedicates 'A Change Is Gonna Come' to Detroit". Essence. Essence Communications. August 1, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Sargent, Jordan (July 31, 2013). "Watch Beyonce Dedicate Moving Cover of 'A Change Is Gonna Come' to Detroit". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ Moraski, Lauren (July 31, 2013). "Watch: Beyonce releases touching tribute to Detroit". CBS News. CBS. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
Jump up ^ "A Change Is Gonna Come, Sam Cooke Cover, 1963 - Done By Dwayne".
Jump up ^ 94.5 KSoul Revamps As Old School 94.5 - Format Change Archive (accessed October 4, 2011)
External links[edit]
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
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text:
Willie Sutton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the American football player, see Will Sutton.
Willie Sutton
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive
Charges
Bank robbery
Description
Born
William Francis Sutton, Jr.
(1901-06-30)June 30, 1901
Brooklyn, New York
Died
November 2, 1980(1980-11-02) (aged 79)
Spring Hill, Florida
Status
Added
March 20, 1950
Caught
February 1952
Number
11
Captured
William Francis "Willie" Sutton, Jr. (June 30, 1901 – November 2, 1980) was an American bank robber. During his forty-year robbery career he stole an estimated $2 million, and he eventually spent more than half of his adult life in prison and escaped three times. For his talent at executing robberies in disguises, he gained two nicknames, "Willie the Actor" and "Slick Willie". Sutton is also known as the namesake of the so-called Sutton's law, although he denied originating it.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Early life
2 Career in crime
3 Personal life and death
4 "Sutton's law"
5 References
6 Further reading
7 External links
Early life[edit]
Sutton was born into an Irish-American family on June 30, 1901. The family lived on the corner of Gold and Nassau Streets in the neighborhood of Irishtown, Brooklyn, now called Vinegar Hill. According to his biography, "Where the Money Was", at the age of three the family relocated to High Street. His father, William Sutton Sr., was a blacksmith. His mother was Mary Ellen Bowles and, according to the biography, born in Ireland; however, according to the 1910 U.S. Census, she was born in Maryland and her parents were born in Ireland. By 1910, she had given birth to five children, of which three were still alive. According to the 1910 Census, his maternal grandfather, James Bowles, and his two maternal uncles were also living with the family. Sutton was the fourth of five children, and did not attend school after the 8th grade.[2][3]
Career in crime[edit]
He became a criminal at an early age, though throughout his professional criminal career, he did not kill anyone. Described by Mafioso Donald Frankos as "a little bright-eyed guy, just 5'7" and always talking, chain-smoking ... cigarettes with Bull Durham tobacco." Frankos stated also that Sutton "dispensed mounds of legal advice" to any convict willing to listen. Inmates considered Sutton a "wise old head" in the prison population. When incarcerated at "The Tombs" (Manhattan House of Detention) he did not have to worry about assault because Mafia friends protected him. In conversation with Donald Frankos he would sadly reminisce about the 1920s and 1930s when he was most active in robbing banks and would always tell fellow convicts that in his opinion, during the days of Al Capone and Charles Luciano, better known as Lucky Luciano, the criminals were the bloodiest. Gangsters from the time period, and many incarcerated organized crime inmates, enjoyed having Sutton for companionship. He was witty and non-violent. Frankos declared that Sutton made legendary bank thieves Jesse James and John Dillinger seem like amateurs.[4]
Sutton was an accomplished bank robber. He usually carried a pistol or a Thompson submachine gun. "You can't rob a bank on charm and personality," he once observed. In an interview in the Reader's Digest published shortly before his death, Sutton was asked if the guns that he used in his robberies were loaded. He responded that he never carried a loaded gun because somebody might get hurt. He stole from the rich and kept it, though public opinion later made him into a type of Gentleman Thief, like Robin Hood. He allegedly never robbed a bank when a woman screamed or a baby cried. According to writer Pavle Stanimirovic who wrote about Willie Sutton in his new True Crime Stories from behind the wall with Burl Barer, he talks about all the "old school" gangsters from "Mad Dog" Joe Sulivan, Jimmy "The Gent" Burke, John Gotti, and Jimmy Ida .[5]
Sutton was captured and recommitted in June of 1931, charged with assault and robbery. He failed to complete his 30-year sentence however, escaping on December 11, 1932, using a smuggled gun and holding a prison guard hostage. With the guard as leverage, Sutton acquired a 45-ft (13.5 meter) ladder to scale the 30-ft (9 meter) wall of the prison grounds.[citation needed]
On February 15, 1933, Sutton attempted to rob the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He came in disguised as a postman, but an alert passerby foiled the crime. Sutton escaped. On January 15, 1934, he and two companions broke into the same bank through a skylight.[citation needed]
The FBI record observes:
Sutton also conducted a Broadway jewelry store robbery in broad daylight, impersonating a postal telegraph messenger. Sutton's other disguises included a police officer, messenger and maintenance man. He usually arrived at banks or stores shortly before they opened for business.
Sutton was apprehended on February 5, 1934, and was sentenced to serve 25 to 50 years in the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the machine gun robbery of the Corn Exchange Bank. On April 3, 1945, Sutton was one of 12 convicts who escaped the institution through a tunnel. Sutton was recaptured the same day by Philadelphia police officer Mark Kehoe.
Sentenced to life imprisonment as a fourth time offender, Sutton was transferred to the Philadelphia County Prison, Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On February 10, 1947, Sutton and other prisoners dressed as prison guards carried two ladders across the prison yard to the wall after dark. When the prison's searchlights hit him, Sutton yelled, "It's all right!" No one stopped him.[1]
On March 20, 1950, Sutton was the eleventh listed of the FBI's FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, created only a week earlier, on March 14.[citation needed]
During February 1952, Sutton was captured by police after having been recognized on a subway and followed by Arnold Schuster, a 24-year-old Brooklyn clothing salesman and amateur detective. Schuster later appeared on television and described how he had assisted in Sutton's apprehension. Albert Anastasia, Mafia boss of the Gambino crime family, disliked Schuster because he was a " rat" and a "squealer". According to Mafia renegade and first major government informant, Joe Valachi, Anastasia ordered the murder of Schuster, who was then shot dead outside his home on March 9, 1952.
Judge Peter T. Farrell presided over a 1952 trial in which Sutton was convicted of the 1950 robbery of $63,942 (equal to $650,387 presently) from a bank of the Manufacturers Trust Company in Sunnyside, Queens. He received a sentence of 30 to 120 years in Attica State Prison.[6]
During December 1969, in response to a motion by Sutton's attorneys, Farrell ruled that Sutton's good behavior in prison and his deteriorating health due to emphysema justified commutation of his sentence to time served. At the hearing Sutton responded, "Thank you, your Honor. God bless you," and wept as he was led out of the court building. During 1970, a separate 30-years-to-life sentence given in Brooklyn during 1952 was also commuted on similar grounds, and he was released to parole.[7]
After his release Sutton delivered lectures on prison reform and consulted with banks on theft deterrent techniques. He made a television commercial for New Britain Bank and Trust Company in Connecticut for their credit card with picture identification on it. His lines were, "They call it the 'face card.' Now when I say I'm Willie Sutton, people believe me."[8]
Personal life and death[edit]
Sutton married Louise Leudemann during 1929. She divorced him while he was in jail. Their daughter Jeanie was born the next year. His second wife was Olga Kowalska, whom he married during 1933. His longest period of (legal) employment lasted for 18 months.[citation needed]
A series of decisions by the United States Supreme Court during the 1960s resulted in his release on Christmas Eve, 1969, from Attica State Prison. He was in ill health at the time, suffering from emphysema and in need of an operation on the arteries of his legs.[citation needed]
Sutton died in 1980 at the age of 79; before this, he had spent his last years with his sister in Spring Hill, Florida.[9] He frequented the Spring Hill Restaurant where he kept to himself. After Sutton's death, his family arranged a quiet burial in Brooklyn in the family plot.
"Sutton's law"[edit]
Main article: Sutton's law
A famous apocryphal story is that Sutton was asked by reporter Mitch Ohnstad why he robbed banks. According to Ohnstad, he replied, "Because that's where the money is". The quote evolved into Sutton's law, which is often invoked to medical students as a metaphor for emphasizing the most likely diagnosis, rather than wasting time and money investigating every conceivable possibility.
In his autobiography, Sutton denied originating the pithy rejoinder:
The irony of using a bank robber's maxim as an instrument for teaching medicine is compounded, I will now confess, by the fact that I never said it. The credit belongs to some enterprising reporter who apparently felt a need to fill out his copy. I can't even remember where I first read it. It just seemed to appear one day, and then it was everywhere.
If anybody had asked me, I'd have probably said it. That's what almost anybody would say ... it couldn't be more obvious.
However, he also said:
Why did I rob banks? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life. I enjoyed everything about it so much that one or two weeks later I'd be out looking for the next job. But to me the money was the chips, that's all.[1]
The Redlands Daily Facts published the earliest documented example of Sutton's law on March 15, 1952 in Redlands, California.[10]
A corollary, the "Willie Sutton rule," used in management accounting, stipulates that activity-based costing (in which activities are prioritized by necessity, and budgeted accordingly) should be applied where the greatest costs occur, because that is where the greatest savings can be found.[11]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c Sutton W, Linn E: Where the Money Was: The Memoirs of a Bank Robber. Viking Press (1976), p. 160. ISBN 067076115X
Jump up ^ 1905 N.Y.S. Census
Jump up ^ 1910 U.S. Census
Jump up ^ Hoffman, William; Headley, Lake (1992). Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hitman -- Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos. Thunder's Mouth Press. New York City, p. 116-118.
Jump up ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=o9tDBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT150&lpg=PT150&dq=never+robbed+a+bank+when+a+woman+screamed+or+a+baby+cried.&source=bl&ots=RJaehgHKvD&sig=2gIH7rBTdnM_0mfpzWh6sVyr4SY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwijxpS66ffLAhXIbB4KHfuWDxYQ6AEIJTAB#v=onepage&q&f=false%7Cdate=March 2014
Jump up ^ Pace, Eric (November 10, 1992). "Peter T. Farrell, 91; Judge Who Presided At the Sutton Trial". The New York Times. Accessed October 11, 2009.
Jump up ^ Staff. "A JAIL TERM LIFTED, SUTTON CRIES IN JOY". The New York Times. December 2, 1969. Accessed October 11, 2009.
Jump up ^ "Business: Willie Sutton, Bankers' Friend". Time. October 26, 1970.
Jump up ^ Lawrence Block (2004). Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains. OUP USA. p. 219. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
Jump up ^ Mikkelson, B (November 14, 2008). "Quotes: Willie Sutton". Snopes.com, retrieved July 28, 2015.
Jump up ^ Cost and Effect, Kaplan, R.S. and Cooper, R., Harvard Business School Press, Boston MA, 1998, ISBN 0-87584-788-9
Further reading[edit]
Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hit Man Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos by William Hoffman and Lake Headley
Moehringer, JR. Sutton. Thorndike Press (2012). ISBN 1410451119.. (Biography)
External links[edit]
FBI website entry on William Sutton
"Willie Sutton, Urbane Scoundrel", The New York Times, February 17, 2002]
Notable Names Database (NNDB) Willie Sutton
'Willie Sutton Is Dead At 79', New York Times obituary, November 19, 1980
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
LCCN: no91029898
VIAF: 75880759
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