TIME LIFE
VA - Let Freedom Sing The Music of the Civil Rights Movement [2009] (3 x CDs)
Released by Time Life in 2009, Let Freedom Sing is a powerful 3-CD box set tracing the soundtrack of America’s Civil Rights struggle from the 1930s through the early 2000s. Across 58 tracks, it documents how music gave voice to resistance, hope, and identity, blending gospel, blues, folk, soul, funk, and protest songs into a living archive of social change.
CD1 opens with spirituals and early protest songs: Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” Josh White’s “Uncle Sam Says,” and Mahalia Jackson’s “We Shall Overcome” sit alongside lesser-known gems like Brother Will Hairston’s “The Alabama Bus” and The Jubilee Hummingbirds’ “Our Freedom Song.” These tracks reflect the movement’s roots in church halls, union meetings, and street marches.
CD2 shifts into the soul and funk era, with James Brown’s “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud,” Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” and Curtis Mayfield’s “We the People Who Are Darker Than Blue.” It’s a mix of anthems and deep cuts—Syl Johnson’s “Is It Because I’m Black” and Swamp Dogg’s “I Was Born Blue” add raw emotional weight.
CD3 moves into the 1970s and beyond, with Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up,” and Chuck D’s “The Pride.” It closes with Solomon Burke’s “None of Us Are Free,” a reminder that the struggle continues.
While many songs are well-known, the sequencing and archival depth make this more than a greatest hits, it’s a curated journey through decades of resistance, where music didn’t just reflect change, it helped make it. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Southern Sons - Go Down Moses 2:45
02 Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit 3:13
03 Josh White - Uncle Sam Says 2:41
04 Golden Gate Quartet - No Restricted Signs 3:01
05 Brownie McGhee - Black, Brown, and White 2:38
06 Weavers - The Hammer Song (If I Had A Hammer) 2:20
07 Ramparts - The Death of Emmet Till, Parts 1 & 2 4:55
08 Big Bill Broonzy - When Do I Get to Be Called A Man? 3:20
09 Brother Will Hairston (Hurricane of The Motor City) - The Alabama Bus 4:39
10 Nat 'King' Cole - We Are Americans Too 2:53
11 Staple Singers - Why (Am I Treated So Bad)? 2:52
12 Harmonizing Four - I Shall Not Be Moved 2:58
13 Harry Belafonte with the Belafonte Folk Singers - Oh Freedom 3:21
14 Louisiana Red - Ride On, Red, Ride On 2:53
15 Nina Simone - Mississippi Goddam 4:53
16 Bob Dylan - Blowin' in The Wind 2:48
17 Mahalia Jackson - We Shall Overcome 2:46
18 Phil Ochs Jackson - Too Many Martyrs 2:49
19 J.B. Lenoir - Alabama Blues 3:15
20 Jubilee Hummingbirds - Our Freedom Song 3:21
21 Otis Redding - A Change is Gonna Come 4:11
CD2
01 Oscar Brown Jr. - Forty Acres and a Mule 3:28
02 Impressions - People Get Ready 2:40
03 Mighty Clouds of Joy - Nobody Can Turn Me Around 2:09
04 Solomon Burke - I Wish I Knew (How it Would Feel to Be Free) 2:51
05 Aretha Franklin - Respect 2:26
06 John Lee Hooker - The Motor City is Burning 2:52
07 George Perkins & The Silver Stars - Cryin' in The Streets, Part 1 3:19
08 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Abraham, Martin and John 3:03
09 Ray Scott - The Prayer 3:40
10 James Brown - Say it Loud-I'm Black and I'm Proud, Part 1 3:01
11 Nickie Lee - And Black is Beautiful 3:02
12 Bill Moss - Sock it to 'Em, Soul Brother 2:26
13 B.B. King - Why I Sing The Blues, Part 1 3:43
14 James Brown - I Don't Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door, I'll Get it Myself), Part 1 3:13
15 Sly & The Family Stone - Stand! 3:07
16 Temptations - Message From A Black Man 5:59
17 Sly Johnson - Is it Because I'm Black 3:57
18 Swamp Dogg - I Was Born Blue 3:01
19 Lee Dorsey - Yes, We Can, Part 1 3:30
20 Curtis Mayfield - We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue 6:05
21 Bob & Marcia - Young, Gifted, and Black 3:13
CD3
01 Gill Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised 3:06
02 Chi-Lites - (For God's Sake) Give More Power to The People 3:53
03 Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes 3:16
04 Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) 5:28
05 Aaron Neville - Hercules 3:41
06 Bob Marley and the Wailers - Get Up, Stand Up 3:16
07 Isley Brothers - Fight The Power, Part 1 3:21
08 O'Jays - Give The People What They Want 4:12
09 Jungle Brothers - Black is Black 3:39
10 Neville Brothers - Sister Rosa 3:32
11 Chuck D - The Pride 4:28
12 Sounds of Blackness - Unity 3:53
13 Solomon Burke - None of Us Are Free 5:31
14 Sojourners - Eyes on The Prize 3:46
15 Mavis Staples - Down in Mississippi 4:58
16 Blind Boys of Alabama - Free at Last 3:31
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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