50 years ago .... "A Change is Gonna Come"

Fifty years ago today, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said it his way. At that same event on the Mall in DC, Bob Dylan said it his way. But if Dylan isn't your cup of tea, how about this 1963 track from Sam Cooke.

Rory Block, "Twelve Gates to the City" (2012)

This tune opened up more avenues of exploration than I can count. I know right now is I've got brush up on my Rev. Gary Davis, learn some more about Jerusalem and definitely keep an eye on this country blues guitar master.
As the AllMusic.com guide put it, "[S]he does a remarkable job of channeling the basics of her subject's technique and grafting it onto her own inimitable style."

Roy Orbison: "Mystery Girl" (1989) (".... Am I left to burn, and burn eternally ...")

Bono and The Edge wrote this song for Roy. It was Roy's last record (released posthumously).

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - "California Soul" (1969; 1970)

I had this album, but I still didn't understand the influence Motown was having on the industry. I came to learn that Motown was built to generate crossover records of the highest quality. California Soul is a good, early example. Two stars, one at an early peak, Tammi recently passed -- Valerie Simpson filling in the spaces. With Ashford and Simpson writing and producing most of the songs, a pure crossover style, in both music and appearance -- this record charted pop but failed to chart R and B. This style lasted. Evolved, but lasted.

This single is an aural paradise.