Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up listening to and singing church songs, and saw gospel and folk music as natural tools to further the civil rights movement.
In this hour-long special from WQXR and WNYC, host Terrance McKnight interweaves musical examples with Dr. King's own speeches and sermons to illustrate the powerful place that music held in his work—and examines how the musical community responded to and participated in Dr. King's cause.
Terrance McKnight is WQXR's Evening Host. He came to WQXR from WNYC, which he joined in 2008. He brings to his position wide and varied musical experience that includes performance, teaching and radio broadcast. An accomplished pianist, McKnight was also a member of the Morehouse College faculty, where he taught music appreciation and applied piano.
Program Playlist:
| Title | Artist |
|---|---|
| Precious Lord Take My Hand | Gospel |
| Soon, One Mornin' | Spiritual |
| Gone With the Wind: Tara's Theme | Max Steiner |
| Ave Maria | Franz Schubert |
| My Country 'tis of Thee | Traditional |
| Brothers, Sing On | Edvard Grieg |
| Lonesome Trail Blues | Bumble Bee Slim |
| Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) | Billie Holiday, vocals |
| One O'Clock Jump | Count Basie and His Orchestra |
| Der Nussbaum No. 3, Op. 25 | Robert Schumann |
| Louise: Depuis le jour | Gustave Charpentier |
| Plaisir D'Amour | Johann Paul A. Martini |
| Symphony No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 21 | George Chadwick |
| Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83 | Johannes Brahms |
| Lucia di Lammermoor: Regnava del silencio | Gaetano Donizetti |
| The Alabama bus | Brother Will Hairston |
| Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round | Spiritual |
| We Shall not be Moved | Spiritual |
| Elijah Rock | arr. by J. Hairston |
| Black, Brown, Beige: Black | Duke Ellington |
| King Fit de battle of Alabama | Duke Ellington |
| Guys and Dolls: The Oldest Established (Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York) | Frank Loesser |
| Amen | Ottis Redding |
| We Shall Overcome | Pete Seeger |
| Only a pawn in their Game | Bob Dylan |
| Oh Freedom | Odetta |
| Alabama | John Coltrane |
| Freedom Now Suite: Freedom Day | Max Roach |
| Fables of Faubus | Charles Mingus |
| Change is Gonna Come | Sam Cooke |
| People Get Ready | Curtis Mayfield |
| Keep Your Eyes on the Prize | Spiritual |
| There is a Balm in Gilead | Spiritual |
| Precious Lord Take My Hand | Gospel |
| Precious Lord Take My Hand | Spiritual |
| The Passion of Martin Luther King | Nicolas Flagello |
| Symphony No. 1 (Homage to M.Luther King) | Leonardo Balada |
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