Frayed, Ragged, Immaculate: Victoria Williams’ Performance of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come”
No pyrotechnics. No special effects. No dancers, no lasers, and no backing band. Just a thin, frail-looking woman with frayed hair, a beat-up acoustic guitar, and a squeaky yet wizened voice — the stuff of musical immortality.
View after view after view, Victoria Williams’ performance of the great Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” captivates and inspires me. When I start to get those existential doldrums and life gets to looking like it’s not worth the time, I go back to the performance. It reminds of what being human feels like, something that seems easier and easier to forget these days.
Williams recorded this performance for Sweet Relief III: Pennies From Heaven. The proceeds from that album, as with all Sweet Relief Fund projects, go to musicians who are in serious medical or personal need.
Williams was actually the recipient of the very first Sweet Relief album, titled Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams. That project was conceived in 1993, after Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
I don’t even like bringing up her disease, because it too easily becomes the centerpiece of any conversation about her, and because it’s too likely to draw pity. As far as I’m concerned, Williams…
