George Powell’s rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come” (original sung by Sam Cooke) has generatedwell over 2-million views and climbing. One listen and you will know why this worship leader from Fallbrook Church (Houston) is needed in this day and time honoring George Floyd much like when Cooke belted out the lyrics in the 60s during the Civil Rights Movement. Read more.

How did the rendition of “A Change Is Gonna Come” come about?

Well, I heard the song so much throughout the coverage of what happened to George Floyd.  Let me also say, thank you so much for having me on the interview call. I appreciate the opportunity. But I heard so much about A Change Is Gonna Come, and it kept coming back up, and my wife sent me a text message and said, I should sing it and do my version of it. I started thinking about it, and when I started singing the first line, I was born by the river… I had to take a break and think about where George Floyd was born. I had to do my research. I was trying to sing it, but I felt it needed to be more tailored to healing. I kept on researching and decided to change all the lyrics, and even that was a process, but it came out to be what it is, and I’m just grateful. I feel like God gave me that to tell George Floyd’s story. Sometimes you have to be flexible as an artist and creative because I could have just ignored all that and sang, and it could have been another song on the shelf or playlist kind of thing.

Do you feel your song connects with the younger generation in regards to George Floyd and the Racial Injustice Movement?

I do. It’s amazing that 60 years later, some of the things from the 1960s are still relevant today. If you weren’t back there (in those times) and you only saw pictures and videos and read it in textbooks, you don’t know, but I think everyone living this experience definitely connects the 1960’s to the 2020s. Sadly, some of those same things are still around, but we’re still fighting, and we’re still making progress, and I think we’re about to make another huge milestone from legislation to having the young people on board. Now we see young people and people from every race across the world, joining our movement. We can now say, “I’m Black and I’m Proud,” and it now has a different meaning, you know.

What do you feel when you perform and sing A Change Is Gonna Come?

You know, I love the original song A Change Is Going To Come. The words are so powerful the whole segregation, and all of that which took place it’s a different meaning. When I get to the version of the George Floyd part and him calling for his mother the last verse, “I Can’t Breathe”… I won’t last for long— It takes you on a journey. I mean, I relive it every time I sing. The time I decided to sing it in the studio and again when I hear… “I Can’t Breathe, you can’t hear those words and keep pressing through. You have to stop; we’re living this. It’s our reality; it’s on the news. We’ve seen it a million times. Every time I sing it, I relive the story. It’s our present-day reality. You relive the experience each time.

Do you feel like it is your responsibility through your song to let people know who was George Floyd and his history, and has any of his family reached out to you after your remake of the song?

I absolutely feel like it’s my responsibility to keep saying the George Floyd name. I think his name and his story have united the world, and one of my goals is to keep saying his name. In addition to Martin Luther King Jr., there’s almost, in my opinion, no other name that people around the world agree on as far as civil rights for black people. We have to say George Floyd because that’s the name that connects everyone. People who would have never thought about saying Black Lives Matter had a change of heart when they saw the George Floyd video, and so I think for that reason. There are others, and so I’m not discounting or diminishing them and their stories and their experiences, but I believe that we have to say George Floyd’s name because it’s almost like when you go to church… the name of Jesus unites everybody. Well, the name of George Floyd…because people from all different nations and religions are united around the George Floyd story, so I definitely feel like we have to say his name and keep saying his name.

I have not had the opportunity to meet the family. They played the song at the memorial (candlelight vigil) the day before his private service. Some of the family members were there, so I’m sure they got a chance to hear it. It was a huge honor in itself. Comcast produced the video, and the family was able to hear and see the video. I pray they were blessed by it and hope they felt like I did justice in telling his story.

You minister to many through your gift of song, but how do you take care of George Powell living in a pandemic and a racially divided country. 

I am not one that likes a lot of attention, but I feel like I am to be an agent of encouragement, and so that is fulfilling for me, and that brings me joy to be able to encourage. I was talking to someone before this interview. We’ve been through so much in 2020 so if this song can provide encouragement and can lift people’s spirit and provide a positive distraction from everything we’re going through, but not dismissing what we’re going through— I’m grateful to be a part of being able to encourage people. So many have reached out to say how the song blessed them, and to say thank you! That is fulfilling for me.

What else do we (black people and the rest of the world) need to do to make sure we do not forget George Floyd’s name?

We have to say his name, all of the other names (the men, women, and children of color no longer here), and Black Lives Matter because that is the movement. I saw a white lady the other day with Black Lives Matter painted on her car; that’s a huge step in and of itself. I have never seen that before.

Despite being homebound, what’s next for George Powell?

I am working on new music and getting writers. I am formulating ideas, and I already have my team of producers, and they’re waiting on us, so I ask that everybody prays for us as we work through this and come up with some new music and ideas, and hopefully, we can get it out pretty soon.

Facebook: George Powell Music

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Interview by ‘Twins of Media’

Photo credit: Facebook