This weeks Drunk History is one for the ages: Brian Tyree Henry, Atlantas king of withering stares, recounts how soul singer Sam Cooke wrote the civil rights anthem “A Change Is Gonna Come.” As seen in the shows latest clip, premiering exclusively on V.F., series stalwart Amber Ruffin, who has previously narrated several episodes—including this seasons “Little Rock Nine” retrospective—also appears for the first time as an actor, playing, as Henry described her, “Sams amazing wife, Barbara.”
The story begins in 1963—“the era of fuckery for black people in this country,” Henry says. The story follows Cookes journey with “A Change Is Gonna Come” from start to finish. As Henry explains, Cooke was first inspired by Bob Dylans “Blowin in the Wind,” a song apparently Cooke responded by saying: “This song is dope, first of all—but this white dude is singing about everything that me as a black man is feeling going through this bullshit. I have to believe I can do better than that.”
Cooke wrote his own song in jail after being arrested trying to check into his motel. As Henry notes, his life was filled with tragedy even after that: His debut on The Tonight Show got overshadowed by the Beatles performing on The Ed Sullivan Show, and the singers senseless death prevented him from watching his song eventually achieve the cultural relevance it deserved. (Cookes last words? “Lady, you shot me!”)
Henry recalls all his subjects struggles as he rambles with freewheeling wit and the occasional drunken (if very accurate) exclamation. In the end, he sums up the story by reflecting on how relevant the song—and its backstory—remain today. “It just really lets you know the pain that we have gone through,” Henry says. “Like, damn. Being black in this country is so hard, its just so stupid. Change needs to come!”
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