Abraham, Martin & John
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Abraham, Martin & John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler. 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 assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy in 1968.
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title. After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert Kennedy, and ends with a verbal image of him walking over a hill with the other three men.
The original version, recorded by Dion, was an American Top 40 single in 1968. Other famous versions were recorded by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (whose cover also became an American Top 40 single in 1968) and Marvin Gaye (whose cover became a top-ten hit (#9) in England 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 Top 40. This version was featured on the soundtrack of brazilian soap opera "Beto Rockfeller" (68-69).
The song is also featured on Tom Clay'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." Clay's recording features narration, sound bytes from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bytes from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination. It reached number eight on the charts on August 14, 1971.
During a 1981 tour, Bob Dylan sang the song in concert: the implicit "John" in Dylan's rendition was John Lennon, who had been killed the year before.
