Abraham, Martin and John
Encyclopedia
"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968
song written by Dick Holler
and first recorded by Dion
. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
, John F. Kennedy
and Robert F. Kennedy
. It was written as a response to the assassination
s of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:
After a bridge
, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.
The original version, recorded by Dion
, featured a gentle folk rock
production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott.
The feeling of the song is set with a gentle oboe
and violin
opening then featuring harp
flourishes at multiple points, including the instrumental conclusion. the song also features a fluglehorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Dion felt during post production that the song needed more depth and added a track featuring him playing classical guitar
notably at the bridge, lead ins and the close. Quite unlike the ethnic rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968, reaching #4 on the U.S. pop singles chart
, being awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In Canada
, it topped the charts, reaching #1 in the RPM 100
on November 25, 1968. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century
list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey.
In April of 1969 Andy Williams
, (who was, in fact, a close friend of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy) recorded a stunningly poignant version on his album 'Happy Heart'. This version is viewed by many as one of the finest. Other famous late-1960s versions were recorded in short order by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (whose cover also became an American Top 40 single in 1969, reaching #33) and Marvin Gaye
(whose cover became a top-ten hit (#9) in the United Kingdom in 1970). Gaye's version was never released in the U.S. as a single but was featured on his 1970 album, That's the Way Love Is
, and was one of his first experiments with social messages in his music which would culminate in his legendary 1971 album, What's Going On
. In addition, comedian Moms Mabley
performed a version that hit the U.S. Top 40, reaching #35 in 1969 and earning her the distinction of the oldest person to appear on a Hot 100 top 40 hit, a record that still stands. This version was featured on the soundtrack of Brazil
ian soap opera
Beto Rockfeller
(1968–1969). Harry Belafonte
recorded the song for his 1970 album Belafonte by Request
.
During a 1981 tour, Bob Dylan
sang the song in concert.
Subsequently, various artists have performed or recorded their rendition of the song, including the likes of Emmylou Harris
, who also typically made it part of medley, such as on her 1992 At the Ryman
concert recording, and also Bon Jovi
. British rockers Marillion
have played the song in acoustic and electric versions; one such hybrid performance can be heard on their 1999 Unplugged at the Walls
album.
Tori Amos
performed the song at four of her concerts during the On Scarlet's Walk Tour in 2003, including Hamburg, Germany on 23 January 2003.
British musician Paul Weller
recorded an acoustic version of the song during the sessions for his 1992 record Paul Weller
. It went unreleased until a deluxe edition of the record was issued in 2009.
's 1971 "What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin, and John", a medley combining Dion's recording with Jackie DeShannon
's recording of Burt Bacharach
's "What the World Needs Now Is Love
", along with vocals by The Blackberries. Clay's recording features narration (an adult asking a child to define several words associated with social unrest), sound bites from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy
, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bites from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1971.
1968 in music
-Events:*January 4 – Guitarist Jimi Hendrix is jailed by Stockholm police, after trashing a hotel room during a drunken fist fight with bassist Noel Redding.*January 6 – Gibson Guitar Corporation patents its Gibson Flying V electric guitar design....
song written by Dick Holler
Dick Holler
Dick Holler is a songwriter, pianist and performer. He is best known as the writer of the folk-pop standard "Abraham, Martin and John" which has been recorded by numerous artists including Dion, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Emmylou Harris, Andy Williams, Marvin Gaye.-Early life :He moved with his...
and first recorded by Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. It was written as a response to the assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:
- Has anybody here, seen my old friend Abraham -
- Can you tell me where he's gone?
- He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young
- But I just looked around and he's gone.
After a bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.
The original version, recorded by Dion
Dion DiMucci
Dion Francis DiMucci , better known as Dion, is an American singer-songwriter whose work has incorporated elements of doo-wop, pop oldies music, rock and R&B styles....
, featured a gentle folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott.
The feeling of the song is set with a gentle oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
opening then featuring harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
flourishes at multiple points, including the instrumental conclusion. the song also features a fluglehorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Dion felt during post production that the song needed more depth and added a track featuring him playing classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
notably at the bridge, lead ins and the close. Quite unlike the ethnic rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
"Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" is a novelty song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by the Florida based rock band, The Royal Guardsmen. The song was recorded at the Charles Fuller Productions studio in Tampa, Florida, and was released as a single on Laurie Records...
", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968, reaching #4 on the U.S. pop singles chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, being awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, it topped the charts, reaching #1 in the RPM 100
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
on November 25, 1968. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century
Songs of the Century
The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America , the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America’s musical and cultural heritage" in American schools...
list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey.
In April of 1969 Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, (who was, in fact, a close friend of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy) recorded a stunningly poignant version on his album 'Happy Heart'. This version is viewed by many as one of the finest. Other famous late-1960s versions were recorded in short order by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (whose cover also became an American Top 40 single in 1969, reaching #33) and Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
(whose cover became a top-ten hit (#9) in the United Kingdom in 1970). Gaye's version was never released in the U.S. as a single but was featured on his 1970 album, That's the Way Love Is
That's The Way Love Is (album)
That's the Way Love Is is an album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released on January 8, 1970 on the Tamla label. Built off the success of the title track originally taken from M.P.G., and much like Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" after its success, was released with intent to sell...
, and was one of his first experiments with social messages in his music which would culminate in his legendary 1971 album, What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
. In addition, comedian Moms Mabley
Moms Mabley
Jackie "Moms" Mabley, born Loretta Mary Aiken , was an American standup comedian and a pioneer of the so-called "Chitlin' Circuit" of African-American vaudeville.-Early years:...
performed a version that hit the U.S. Top 40, reaching #35 in 1969 and earning her the distinction of the oldest person to appear on a Hot 100 top 40 hit, a record that still stands. This version was featured on the soundtrack of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Beto Rockfeller
Beto Rockfeller
Beto Rockfeller is a Brazilian telenovela produced by TV Tupi and aired from November 4, 1968 to November 30, 1969. It was created by Cassiano Gabus Mendes, written by Bráulio Pedroso and directed by Lima Duarte and Walter Avancini.-Plot:...
(1968–1969). Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
recorded the song for his 1970 album Belafonte by Request
Belafonte by Request
Belafonte By Request is an album by Harry Belafonte, released in 1970.- Track listing :# "Mr. Bojangles" – 4:47# "Oh Linda" – 3:14# "Missouri Birds" – 3:54# "Big City Living" – 3:13...
.
During a 1981 tour, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
sang the song in concert.
Subsequently, various artists have performed or recorded their rendition of the song, including the likes of Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, who also typically made it part of medley, such as on her 1992 At the Ryman
At the Ryman
At the Ryman is a 1992 live album by Emmylou Harris and her then-newly formed acoustic backing band, The Nash Ramblers, recorded at the Ryman Auditorium, most famously known as the one-time home of the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee. Harris had by this point disbanded her legendary Hot...
concert recording, and also Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
. British rockers Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
have played the song in acoustic and electric versions; one such hybrid performance can be heard on their 1999 Unplugged at the Walls
Unplugged At The Walls (Album)
Unplugged At The Walls is an album by British rock band Marillion released in 1999. It was recorded in a small restaurant in Oswestry June 25 and 26, 1998 as a strictly acoustic set...
album.
Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
performed the song at four of her concerts during the On Scarlet's Walk Tour in 2003, including Hamburg, Germany on 23 January 2003.
British musician Paul Weller
Paul Weller
Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
recorded an acoustic version of the song during the sessions for his 1992 record Paul Weller
Paul Weller (album)
Paul Weller is Paul Weller's first solo album, released in 1992.After disbanding The Style Council and leaving label Polydor in 1989, Weller formed The Paul Weller Movement in 1990, releasing a single, Into Tomorrow, on his own Freedom High record label, in October 1991...
. It went unreleased until a deluxe edition of the record was issued in 2009.
As part of medleys
The song is also featured on Tom ClayTom Clay
Tom Clay was an American radio personality and disc jockey.Clay was born Thomas Clague in New York, and in the 1950s he was popular in the Detroit area on WJBK-AM both as a DJ, and for his on-air comic characterizations; he became a local celebrity...
's 1971 "What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin, and John", a medley combining Dion's recording with Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
's recording of Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
's "What the World Needs Now Is Love
What the World Needs Now Is Love
"What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. First recorded and made popular by Jackie DeShannon, it was released on April 15, 1965, on the Imperial label after a release on sister label Liberty records the previous month...
", along with vocals by The Blackberries. Clay's recording features narration (an adult asking a child to define several words associated with social unrest), sound bites from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bites from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1971.