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Artist-Dion Dimucci
A-side-Abraham, Martin & John
B-side-"Daddy Rollin' (In Your Arms)"
Released-Late 1968
Format-7-inch 45 RPM
Recorded-Allegro Sound Studios; Engineer Bruce Staple
Length-3:15
Label-Laurie Records
Writer(s)-Dick Holler
Producer-Phil Gernhard
"Abraham, Martin & John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written as a response to the assassinations of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.
You can listen to the song here:
Background & History
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:
Has anybody here, seen my old friend John -
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young
But I just looked around and he's gone.
After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions Robert "Bobby" Kennedy, and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.
The original version, recorded by Dion, featured a gentle folk rock production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott. The feeling of the song is set with a gentle oboe and violin opening then featuring harp flourishes at multiple points, including the instrumental conclusion. the song also features a fluglehorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Dion felt during post production that the song needed more depth and added a track featuring him playing classical guitar notably at the bridge, lead ins and the close. Quite unlike the ethnic rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968, reaching #4 on the U.S. pop singles chart and #1 in Canada, being awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey.
Other famous late-1960s versions were recorded in short order by Motown's Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (whose cover also became an American Top 40 single in 1969, reaching #33) and Marvin Gaye (whose cover became a top-ten hit (#9) in the United Kingdom in 1970). Gaye's version was never released in the U.S. as a single but was featured on his 1970 album, That's the Way Love Is, and was one of his first experiments with social messages in his music which would culminate in his legendary 1971 album, What's Going On. In addition, comedian Moms Mabley performed a version that hit the U.S. Top 40, reaching #35 in 1969. This version was featured on the soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera Beto Rockfeller (1968-1969).
Harry Belafonte recorded the song for his 1970 album "Belafonte by Request". The song is also featured on Tom Clay's 1971 "What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin, and John", a medley combining Dion's recording with Jackie DeShannon's recording of Burt Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now Is Love", along with vocals by The Blackberries. Clay's recording features narration, sound bites from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bites from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination. It reached number eight on the U.S. pop singles chart in August 1971.
During a 1981 tour, Bob Dylan sang the song in concert.
Subsequently, various artists have performed or recorded their rendition of the song, including the likes of Emmylou Harris, who also typically made it part of medley, such as on her 1992 At the Ryman concert recording, and also Bon Jovi. British rockers Marillion have played the song in acoustic and electric versions; one such hybrid performance can be heard on their 1999 Unplugged at the Walls album.
Tori Amos performed the song at four of her concerts during the On Scarlet's Walk Tour in 2003, including Hamburg, Germany on 23 January 2003.[1]
LYRICS
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.
