This is a rare FCH repeat albeit with a tweaked introduction. It was first posted on 1/26/2026 during the siege of Minneapolis in between the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Those were dark days for the country. I posted A Change Is Gonna Come to reassure everyone that after the dark comes the dawn or some such shit. I’m posting it today in celebration of the citizen uprising that led to the blue tsunami. Fuck yeah, America.

Sam Cooke wrote A Change Is Gonna Come in 1963. It quickly became one of the Civil Rights movement’s anthems.  The Insult Comedian hates the Civil Rights movement and has downgraded the MLK day holiday. It all comes down to racism for Donald Trump. He’s a small man in a big job.

Another change to the post is the featured image. Last January, it was Sam Cooke smoking. Today, it’s a Jasper Johns flag. I doubt Sam would have minded.

One more thing before we get to the music: Hat tip to Cassandra for giving me this benign earworm with her election wrap up post.

We begin with the songwriter:

Aretha Franklin. Say no more.

Richard Manuel sang many wistful songs with The Band. This is one of them:

Billy Bragg puts a British working class spin on this week’s tune:

Tina Turner with Robert Cray: It doesn’t get better than this, y’all.

The Neville Brothers never shied away from politics, which gives their version of the Cooke classic added weight:

Next, New Orleans’ own Jon Boutte:

Finally, Bettye LaVette:

What would the Friday Cocktail Hour be without instrumental versions of the week’s tune? This time, David Fathead Newman followed by Bill Frisell:

I didn’t change the post’s conclusion. It was pitch perfect then and now.

That’s it for this week. Let’s toast the people of Minnesota who are non-violently fighting the good fight for the rest of us. It’s what Martin and Andrew would want. Never argue with them.

Repeat after me: Fuck yeah, America.