“A Change Is Gonna Come” was composed and first released by Sam Cooke in 1964, after he and his team were turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana. It's often thought of as Cooke's most influential song, and frequently appears in lists of 'the greatest songs ever'. So why doesn't Cooke's rendition appear in this list? The honest answer? — oversight. When drawing up this list, I'd completely forgotten that it was a Sam Cooke composition and selected 10 covers based on 'listen-ability' at that moment. Probably, a bad decision, but one I can live with. Cooke is such a giant of Soul — arguably, it's first great performer — that he'll appear in countless lists and features to come. As you can see from the 1961 list. Late 50s R&B and German Wednesday make up the numbers.
R&B
- I Can Tell Chuck Willis
- The Walkin' Blues Fluffy Hunter
- But I Do Clarence 'Frogman' Henry
- Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette) Benny Spellman
- Messin' With The Man Muddy Waters
- Gonna Find My Baby Elmer James (Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup)
- That's What Girls Are Made For Spinners
- Honest I Do Jimmy Reed
- Happy, Happy Birthday Baby Tune Weavers
- Apache Jorgen Ingmann & His Guitar
1961
- Twistin' Train Don Covay And The Goodtimers
- The Twist King Curtis
- If You Don't Come (You Better Call) Patience Valentine
- Cops And Robbers Marie Gladness
- Ain't Misbehavin Sam Cooke
- What A Price Fats Domino
- The Lone Twister The Lone Twister (Murray 'The K' Kaufman)
- Garde-moi la derniere danse (Save the Last Dance for Me) Paule Desjardins
- Hit The Road Jack Ray Charles
- It Had To Be You Chyvonne Scott
A Change Is Gonna Come
- A Change Is Gonna Come Buckner Brothers
- A Change Is Gonna Come Arthur Conley
- A Change Is Gonna Come Brenton Wood
- A change is gonna come Brother Jack McDuff
- A Change Is Gonna Come Chuck Jackson
- A Change Is Gonna Come James & Bobby Purify
- A Change Is Gonna Come Lorraine Ellison
- A Change Is Gonna Come Magnificent Men
- A Change Is Gonna Come Soul Survivors
- A Change Is Gonna Come Willie Mabon
German
- Der Twist beginnt Top Twisters
- Jenny, Oh Jenny Roy Etzel
- Tausend Küsse tausend Grüße Kalinka
- Die schönen Stunden geh'n schnell vorbei Peggy March
- Ich will dich immer wieder küssen (24 mila baci) Ralf Bendix
- Am Sonntag will mein Süßer mit mir segeln gehn Old Merrytale Jazzband
- Mondschein und Liebe Alice & Ellen Kessler
- Frauen Und Rosen Sacha Distel
- Rauschende Birken Ernst Mosch & Egerländer Musikanten
- Ein Schiff wird kommen (Ta Pedia Tou Pirea) Robert Docker