The Civil Rights Anthems That Were Written Under Covert Police Surveillance

In 1964, Nina Simone sang a song at Carnegie Hall that ended her American career in a single evening. Promotional copies came back from Southern radio stations snapped in half. And somewhere in a government office, a file with her name on it was already open. She wasn't the only one. This is the story of 10 civil rights anthems written, recorded, or released while the people who made them were being watched. Not by fans. By informants, state agencies, and police intelligence units with photographers and filing cabinets and taxpayer funding. You'll hear how Curtis Mayfield faked a crowd to make a victory sound like it had already happened. How Syl Johnson cut one of the greatest protest records in Chicago history and then spent 30 years frying catfish on the South Side while producers sampled his voice for free. How Berry Gordy called "What's Going On" the worst thing he'd ever heard and Marvin Gaye went on strike until Motown released it. How the state of Mississippi ran a secret spy agency that kept files on more than 87,000 people, sealed until 1998. And how the only television performance Sam Cooke ever gave of "A Change Is Gonna Come" was erased and taped over, 10 months before he was shot dead in a Los Angeles motel. Every song on this list cost somebody something. A career. A record deal. A country. A life. They wrote them anyway. Which of these 10 hit you hardest? Tell us in the comments, and tell us which forgotten artist you want us to bring back next. Subscribe to R&B Wonders. These stories only survive if somebody keeps telling them. Featured in this video: The Impressions, Syl Johnson, Eugene McDaniels, The Staple Singers, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, Nina Simone #RandBWonders #SoulMusic #CivilRights #NinaSimone #SamCooke #MarvinGaye #ArethaFranklin #JamesBrown #MusicHistory #ClassicSoul #CurtisMayfield #SylJohnson #StapleSingers #ProtestSongs #60sMusic