PRPG:
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

This Song’s For You, Dr. King

January 26, 2017

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights pioneer and American hero. Naturally, quite a few songs have been written about him.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

“Happy Birthday” (1980)

Martin Luther King’s birthday has now been an official federal holiday for more than 30 years, observed on the third Monday of January. The concept was first proposed in 1968 as a bill by Michigan congressman John Conyers after Dr. King was assassinated. There was support for the holiday throughout the ’70s, but the movement really took off when superstar Stevie Wonder recorded a song in favor of the idea in 1980. “Happy Birthday” is a song both about Dr. King and the need to honor him. The song was a huge hit, which led to a petition signed by six million Americans demanding a King holiday. On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

“By the Time I Get to Arizona” (1991)

Even though Martin Luther King, Jr. Day became a federal holiday, not every state government supported the idea. New Hampshire and Arizona politicians resisted the idea for many years, prompting Chuck D of the political rap group Public Enemy to write and record “By the Time I Get to Arizona” in 1991. It’s a direct attack on those politicians.
“Pride (In the Name of Love)” (1985)
U2 has recorded a lot of songs about political and social issues, but few are as bombastic as “Pride (In the Name of Love).” The first few verses of the song, which hit the top 40 in nearly a dozen countries around the world, celebrate the life and courage of Dr. King in his civil rights crusades…and it ends with a recounting of the details of his 1968 assassination.

“One Vision” (1985)

After performing at Live Aid, the massive 1985 benefit concert to relieve African famine, Freddie Mercury of Queen was reinvigorated to perform music again, particularly music with a message. He got the band back together to write an uplifting song, and the result was “One Vision,” which became the lead-off song on the band’s album A Kind of Magic. The nugget of the song came from drummer Roger Taylor, who thought the band should write about King, who was on a lot of people’s minds at the time due to the upcoming celebration of the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1986.