Tag Archives: civil rights

Derek Trucks Band – Live at Detroit Jazz Fest

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This is Derek Trucks and his band playing “I Wish I Knew” –  recorded live at the 29th Detroit International Jazz Festival, September 1, 2008.

The full title of the song is “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free”.

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
I wish I could say all the things that I should say …

The song was written by Dr. Billy Taylor (along with Dick Dallas?) back in 1954. It was originally recorded by Nina Simone in 1967 on her Silk and Soul album. Billy Taylor also recorded his own instrumental version back in 1967. He said that he wrote the song (perhaps his best known composition) for his daughter Kim, describing it as a very spiritual song.

“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” was used as a theme song on the BBC, a theme song for the 2004 Olympics, as music for a Coca-Cola commercial, and also served as an anthem for the civil-rights movement.

The video quality (on this youtube video) is not that great, but I think it’s the perfect way to close out this labor day weekend I Love Detroit series, and as Mike Mattison sings at the end of the video — Everyone Should Be Free!

It’s just like Donald Miller said in Blue Like Jazz: “jazz music was invented by the first generation out of slavery…  it is very hard to put on paper; it is so much more a language of the soul … It is a music birthed out of freedom.”

Tribute to Martin Luther King

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Today is my 40th year remembering Dr. King, who was killed when I was a young boy — and I still love to hear the stories about M.L. King and his concern about being a person of character, and raising up people of character, who will stand against all kinds of hate, and bigotry; and stand for what is good, and right.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was one of the pivotal leaders of the American civil rights movement. He became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955–1956) and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957), serving as its first president. His efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Here he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Pause a few moments and review a video tribute to Dr. King.