- [Seth] Yeah, it's me, Dolly Parton. Here's what's about to happen. I'm leaving "The Porter Wagoner Show," I'm getting brand new producers, I will be bridging country music and pop. I'mma be in movies, are
you in or are you out? Back me or back the (bleep) off. And they're all like, cool, we're in. Yeah, absolutely, we're in. Yeah, you're, yeah, you're
(bleep)in' Dolly Parton, yeah. Great, let's do it, (bleep). (Warm Fanfare Music) - Hey America! I'm Brian Tyree Henry. We about to talk about
"A Change is Gonna Come," which is sang by (bleep) Sam Cooke. Get into this shit. So, our story starts at
1960-mother(bleep)in'-three, the era of (bleep)ery for Black
people in this country. We'd been dealing with Jim Crow and shit, And at the same time, we were still dominating the music scene. We'd been giving you like The Supremes, and been giving you The Temptations, and been giving you like Otis Redding. And so, one of the people
that was dominating the music scene in the biggest way was Sam mother(bleep)in' Cooke. So Sam was known as a soul singer, but now he had crossed over to pop music. So at this point, Sam Cooke
is like going on tour, and like, he's riding on his bus. So he has this dude named J.W. Alexander. So J.W. Alexander is like,
yo, I don't need you to like, lose your mind right now, but you know we going through right now
with this Civil Rights shit. There's a white dude out there that put out this song that's like kinda like changing the world, bro. So Jay Dubbs lays this track down, and it's Bobby Dylan singing
"Blowin' in the Wind." And Sam is listening to
this shit like, wait, stop, wait, stop, hold up, (bleep), stop. This song is dope, first of all, but this white dude is
singing about everything that me as a Black man is feeling, going through this bullshit. I have to believe I can
do better than that. So he like picks up a ukulele, 'cause he had a ukulele on
the bus for some reason. - [Derek] Sam Cooke? - Sam Cooke has a ukulele. - And (bleep)in' Jack Johnson. - Who the (bleep) is that? - I knew you wouldn't get that. - Do you know anything about Jhené? - JonBenet, yeah, I think the brother- - R&B good- (sighs) (Derek laughing) "Change is Gonna Come." (Derek laughing) So, as soon as he has
his ukulele, he's like, ah, man, what is this song gonna be? What's this song gonna be? ♪ Unh ♪ ♪ I'mma do something ♪ ♪ Just gonna talk about real shit ♪ ♪ And what the Black struggle is like ♪ ♪ Hah ♪ - He just wasn't, he
couldn't figure it out. So he had to stop in
Shreveport, Louisiana. So like, he's driving through
Louisiana in the '60s, man, and he's like seeing like
colored only, white only. So they go to this motel, 'cause you know, Black people couldn't go to
hotels, you'd go to motels. - [Derek] Motel, hotel. - Holiday Inn! You are Blacker than I thought, Derek. Like, you've actually been, got my eye on you. (Derek laughs) So anyway, so he's checking in, whatever, and he's got his like entourage. And he's like, ding, ding,
ding, Sam Cooke is here. So, of course, this
white person's back there eating like white potato salad and shit. And so, he was like, yeah. Sam was like, I'm checking in, Sam Cooke. And like, mm, let me check, let me check, let me check through the files. (Brian burbling) Nothing here. And he's like, what are you talking about? I'm Sam Cooke. You hear literally like my song
is on the radio right there. The person behind the counter
is like, pfft, I don't care. You just look like a colored boy to me. So Sam is like, no, this (bleep) didn't! And so he's like, and all his friends are trying to get him together. And his wife rolls up. Sam's amazing wife, Barbara. She's like, bae, stop, bae. They don't care that you're Sam Cooke, look at that (bleep)in' bland-ass
potato salad he's eating. (Derek laughs) You Black, we in Louisiana,
they'll kill your ass, calm down, breathe, bae.
Bae, breath, (inhales) bae. He's like, bae you right. And she's like, bae, I know. But at this point, the attendant
already called the cops, so the cops were already there. And they're like, hey, we hear that there's negroes in here causing trouble. And the attendant's
like, them, right there, like, with the spoon with
the potato salad, and them. (Derek laughs) Them right there, dude, they're
all in trouble, man, look- - Who (bleep)ed with you with
that had potato salad? - You don't understand,
bland-ass potato salad is a cause for a riot in my life. If that shit isn't yellow,
(Brian clapping hands) and there's not eggs in that bitch, there ain't no relish, and
there ain't no mother(bleep)in', like, get out of my house. (Derek and Brian laughing) Anyway, so of course, they
put all these dudes in jail. And so, Sam was like sitting
there, and he was like, damn, I still ain't
finished this song though. Damn, even though I'm Sam
Cooke, that don't mean shit. They'll still throw me in jail, and they embarrassed me in front of Babs? Something's gotta change,
man, something's gotta change. Boom! He's like, shit, "A Change is Gonna Come." "A Change is Gonna Come." So he starts writing this song in jail. Like, he was like, damn,
man, I was born in a tent. I wasn't even in a house,
like I was by a river, you know what I'm saying? And that's how it started, so he ♪ Born by the river ♪ ♪ In a little tent ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ - Oh my God, like, this is the one, this is the shit, "Change is Gonna Come." So, he gets out of
jail, finishes the song, and then on February 7, 1964, he goes on "The Tonight
Show with Johnny Carson" to debut this masterpiece
called "A Change is Gonna Come." These white people are
out there going crazy. Sam was like, yes, you,
"A Change is Gonna Come," you, "A Change is Gonna Come," you know "A Change is
Gonna Come," Sam Cooke. But then like two days later, the (bleep)ing Beatles
perform their new singles on Ed Sullivan's "Really Big Show." And so, like, the Beatles kinda stole the thunder from Sam,
and Sam was like, (bleep)! Again, it happened. Another mother(bleep)ing
white band stole my shine. So, you know, he decides to like go out. So he meets this chick named, Elisa Boyer. She had a reputation, she was like, I can get any man I want, 'cause you know, look at this, I'm fine, and what I do is Elisa Boyer. So, here we are at yet another motel, and they do what they do, they rolling in the sack,
and he's like, or she's like, oh my God, "A Change is Gonna Come." And he's like, yeah, "A
Change is Gonna Come." And she's like, "A Change is Gonna Come," and then he's just like, oh, fine. (Derek laughing)
Anyway. (laughs) Anyway, Sam, forgive me. (Derek laughs) He's like, he got, he's- - What was that?
- I don't know. Hopes, dreams, anyway.
(Derek laughs) So anyway, Sam Cooke is in the bathroom, like, you know, just showering off. And so, Elisa Boyer snatches
all his stuff, and runs out. And like, Sam opens the bathroom door, like, naked, just standing there. And he's like, no, she
didn't, no, did she really? So Sam throws on a trench coat. He goes to the lobby, and
like, and he's running around, and like, the hotel manager, like, sees this dude in a trench coat. And he's like, hey, did you see this chick come here in with my stuff? I'm sitting here in a trench
coat, my balls are out. And she's like, ahh, penis! Ahh, oh my God! He's like, no, no, no I'm Sam Cooke, like, chill out, I'm Sam Cooke. And then she just like shoots him. Like, just like shoots him. And his last words, his last
words were, "Lady, you shot me." And that's it! He was out. And the sad part about the whole thing is, is that he couldn't even see the success of what "Change is Gonna Come" is have, because like after he died, "Change is Gonna Come" like skyrocketed, it became like, it became the song of the Civil Rights Movement. Like, that's song would play,
it gave Black people hope. And it is still relevant. Goddammit! It just really lets you
know the pain that, like, we have gone through, like, damn, being Black in this country is so hard, it's just so stupid, change needs to come. You know when change comes, Derek? I'm getting reparations right now because I got your white
ass to buy me liquor, and change has already started, man. Like, so, cheers to us.
- Amen. - Change is gonna come. - Cheers, thank you Sam. - I love you, Derek. - I love you, Brian. - I really love you. - I love you for sentimental reasons. - And now I'm tingling. - That was a Sam Cooke song. - Oh, was it? (laughs) I knew that. Oh.
(Derek laughing) (Brian laughs) - Hello. Today, we're gonna talk
about Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner. Porter Wagoner had his own
television show in Nashville. On his show, he sang songs, and he also had what they called a girl singer, named Norma Jean. But Norma Jean left the show. Enter Dolly Parton. And Dolly Parton just thinks, oh (bleep), he heard the songs that
I sent in for Norma Jean, and wants me to write more songs. And Porter Wagoner sits
her down and is like, hey, I want you to be on my show, and you'll be the girl singer,
'cause you're a girl. Over the course of the next
six years, just like kill it. 13 duet albums, 18 hits,
and everyone loves them. And she wants to have a solo career, but every time she writes a song, and he's like, you gotta do it this way, I'm the boss, it's my (bleep)ing show. You will do it how I
say, I'm Porter Wagoner, it's "The Porter Wagoner Show,"
you're my girl singer. Okay, I guess I'll follow along, 'cause I have to, 'cause you're the boss. But her solo, like, none of her songs are doing that well in her solo career. And one night, she signs an autograph with this little auburn-haired girl. She says, hey, darlin', what's your name? And the girl says, Jolene. And she says, Jolene. Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. That is the name of (bleeping)ing
country and western song. And that is her first huge (bleep)ing hit. Everyone is like, we like
that song, Dolly Parton. (Seth laughs and claps hands) So-
- [Derek] They clapped. - But they bought the record. And now, she's gotta tell Porter Wagoner, she's gotta go and do her own thing. And she doesn't know how to tell him. So she decides, I gotta write a song, because that's how, when
you're Dolly Parton, that's how you express yourself. (cork whistles) She sits him down, and she sings to him. I will always love you. I will always love you, fact! It's probably the most beautiful song that's ever been written. And if you listen to that song,
the chorus of that song, she makes this promise to Porter Wagoner. I will always love you. And he says, that is
the most beautiful thing I've ever heard in my life. That's the best song you've ever written. Of course you can go. This is so fun. This is the most fun
I've ever had in my life. I'm gonna literally Instagram
this (bleep) right now. Where's my phone? She goes to New York City, and she walked straight into RCA offices. Yeah, it's me, Dolly Parton. Here's what's about to happen. I'm leaving "The Porter Wagoner Show." I'm getting brand new producers. I will be bridging country music and pop. I'm gonna be in movies. Are you in, or are you out? Back me or back the (bleep) off. And they're all like, cool, we're in. Yeah, absolutely, we're in. Yeah, you're, yeah (bleep)ing
Dolly Parton, yeah, great. Let's do it, (bleep). And she does exactly what she said she would do to those RCA executives. She starts recording pop music. And Porter Wagoner, Porter Wagoner only thought about himself. Porter Wagoner sues Dolly Parton, basically says, I want
15% of what you did. I want 15% of what you're doing. And I want 15% of what you're gonna do. And Dolly Parton is like,
(bleep), Porter Wagoner, just chill, chill out, man. So she's like, let's settle out of court. Porter Wagoner's like, cool,
I'll take a million dollars. I like a million dollars. What does she do next? Only makes her first movie. Dolly Parton is making "9 to 5," she's making "Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas," she's crushing it. Porter Wagoner, during this
time, he's off blowing money. He's giving jewelry out
to the women and (bleep) like crazy, he buys a
(bleep)ing orange grove. He owes the IRS $500,000. But Dolly Parton made a
promise to Porter Wagoner, that she would always love him. And she did, and buys his entire music catalog from him for millions of dollars. She helped out when he was destitute. Finally, when he gets back on his feet, Porter Wagoner tries to buy his music catalog back from Dolly and she sends him a fax and the fax just says, you
can have it all back for free. Love you, Dolly. Oh boy. I am real drunk. In 2007, Dolly Parton has a premonition (Seth Sighs) that she needs to go to Porter Wagoner. Porter Wagoner was dying. She went to his deathbed, she's sang to him. (Banjo Strumming) ♪ But I know ♪ ♪ I'll think of you,
each step of the way ♪ ♪ And I will always love you ♪ - [Seth] And she lived up
to that promise until his, and I'm sure to her dying day. I really wanted to sing, did I ever sing? - Oh boy, did you sing. - Did I really? (laughs) - Boy, did you sing. - I did? - Hello, I'm Daryl Johnson, and today we're gonna talk
about Louis Armstrong, and the people that made Louis the Louis Armstrong we know today. Louis Armstrong grew up in the roughest and poorest part of New Orleans. He'd be like, I'm gonna
sing for some money! When people would throw pennies at him, he would pick up the pennies, and throw them in his mouth so that the big kids
wouldn't take them from them. And that's how he got his
first nickname, Satchmo! You take all the coins,
and put them in your mouth like a satchel, satch-mouth! His moms works off and on again, prostituted in the brothels, where all the jazz music was playing. So Louis would be like, hey
girl, can I listen real quick to the band that's playing on
the other side of this wall? And so he would listen
to the Kid Ory band, and "King" Joe Oliver. The baddest coordinators in town. Couldn't nobody touch "King" Oliver. And little Louis was
listening through those walls, and was like, that's what I wanna do. I want to play that music. Phew. Ah! It's burning the inside of my body! Okay, so, one day, a Jewish coal merchant, Bernhardt Karnofsky, saw
little Louis at the brothels, and said, hey, little kid. I can give you a job if you work for me delivering coal to the prostitutes. Come into our family, and we're gonna feed you, and treat you like one of our own. Mrs. Karnofsky was singing
little Jewish lullabies to Louis as a young boy, and he's be like. (singing in Yiddish) No, wait, no, that's the prayer. The lullaby'd probably be like. ♪ We're Jewish and we love it ♪ - [Daryl] That's like, nice, right? - [Derek] That's perfect. - So, at seven years old, he's
working for the Karnofskys. On the truck, he used to play a horn, like mah, mah, mah, we're coming. And they were driving past this pawn shop, and in the window of this pawn shop was this old beat up coronet. And he was like, I want that. Little Louis asked Karnofsky, do you think you can advance me the five dollars to buy that coronet? He said, of course, I can
loan you the five dollars. And it was a piece of junk, but it was his piece of junk
and he used to polish it. He was like, mah, mah, mah, mah, mah. 'Cause he wasn't really that good yet. But he was saying, I'm gonna be the best cornetist in all Louisiana. And wore a Star of David
for the rest of his life to commemorate how much the
Karnofsky family meant to him. That was way before all
these celebrities today made it popular to just
go grab a little Black kid off of the street.
(Derek laughs) So he's out one night and
he decides to shoot a gun into the air to celebrate new year's. The police was like, uh-uh,
can't be a little Black kid in New Orleans shooting a gun in the air. We're gonna arrest you. He got taken to the New
Orleans Home for Colored Waifs. - [Derek] That sounds racist. - [Daryl] Yes, I'm sure
it was pretty racist. This is, we're like talking 1913. And that's when he meets Pete Davis, the musical instructure-
musical instructor. Pete Davis taught him how to read music, and how to play technically. It's like, you gonna be the best, the best damn horn player in New Orleans. And so, a couple of years
later when he gets out, he's playing in all this like seedy bars, everybody in New Orleans was like, hey, that's little Louis Armstrong. He used to make the horn talk. - Is that what they said? - It's what it sounded like. ♪ Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, bah, ♪ ♪ go get you a prostitute. ♪ ♪ Get you some whiskey. ♪ ♪ Badadada, bah, bah,
and have a good time. ♪ - [Daryl] And one day, his idol, "King" Joe Oliver, heard him play. And he was like, man, this kid is good. (bottle clattering)
(bleep). (Daryl laughing) - This one, oh, there's another one. - I told you Sazeracs
do something special. All right. It was King Oliver who
taught them how to perform. So he used to march all
around town in parades, marching bands, and that's
how Louis got his soul. Papa Joe would be like, if
you heard the crowd getting into the music, give
them a little bit more. Right? So if he was like bah, bah, bah, just throw more notes.
Bah, bah, bah, bah, bah. and little Louis was like, sure! I'm drunk as (bleep),
I'll do whatever you want. I'm so drunk. What do you want now? What was I talking about?
[Derek Laughs] We're talking about Louis Armstrong. So, to be honest, he was playing better than Papa Joe. Louis became the number one
cornetist in New Orleans. And everybody was like, man,
this Louis Armstrong is good, and that's when he blew up. - Cheers. - To Louis Armstrong
- To Louis. - To Louis. - [Derek] Without that
love that he's given, - [Daryl] he might not
be the Louis Armstrong. We know him today. Always remember where you
got that inspiration from. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Louis. - Louis Armstrong was the greatest. - Oh, okay do it slow. - You want me to crack your back? - Yeah. Okay. But do it slow. (Daryl Laughing) You, you want to crack- you're drunk. - I'm drunk! - Hello. Today, we're talking
about Kris Kristofferson. (Derek Laughs) Kris Kristofferson got incredible grades and he was a Rhodes scholar. And then he was trained as an army ranger to fly helicopters. His platoon commander knew someone in Nashville that worked for Johnny Cash. We can get you in free to a show at the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah. I love it. Let's do it. So Kris takes a one week
leave and watches Johnny Cash. He felt power and energy because that's what Johnny Cash did. Kris felt transfixed,
my God, this is my hero. And Kris said in that moment
that he was thunderstruck and then Johnny Cash walked off and Johnny Cash walked
over and shook his hand. Boom. Holy (bleep), this is my hero and he just came up to
me and connected with me. So Kris says, you know what? I'm going to quit this. And he quits the army and he
moves to Nashville, Tennessee with the idea of becoming
a great singer-songwriter. Finally, a job opens up of being a janitor at Columbia records. And then his mother writes him a letter, your hero, Johnny Cash, is a drug addict. And of course he sings at
San Quentin Folsom right now because a jailbird sings "Jailbirds." So we have now officially disowned you. We hope somehow you come to your senses because you're not a songwriter.
Sorry, Kris, you're done. And he felt like a giant failure. He's a (bleep)ing janitor. And then one day Johnny Cash comes in. He's like who in the world
is in there right now? Changing the ashtrays with those brown with the incredible blue eyes. Well that's Kris, who is he? His mom just disowned him
because you're his hero. And Kris was in there
changing the ashtrays and Johnny Cash comes in and says, Well it's always nice to get
a letter from home, ain't it? And Kris can't believe it. He's like, yeah, but they bonded over it. because he was passionate
and he had his dream. I'm going to quit all this. And I want to pursue an artist life. So we quit. Kris is starving. He has no money. He's now writing these songs. And then Kris and he's so
frustrated and he has one song. It's about that feeling to be on a Sunday when the bars don't open and it's got "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down." it's that feeling of loneliness and nobody believing in you but you and wish the Lord that I was stoned there ain't nothing that Sunday,
make somebody feel alone. "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down" was the song Kris knew was something special. How can I get my song Johnny
Cash and make an impact? So great Johnny, Kris landed a helicopter in his lawn to give him this song. Some fools landed in our
yard with a helicopter right out of the sky. He re listened to the song and the song went to the
next level for Johnny because he understood it. He understood the isolation and loneliness and wishing Lord that he was stoned. Excuse me. - You're fine. (Eric Burps) - So at that time Johnny Cash was recording
his own variety show for ABC. So Johnny said to Kris, Hey, we're going to do "Sunday
Mornin' Coming Down" right now. And then went through a
run through of the song. ♪ On a Sunday morning sidewalk, ♪ ♪ Wishing Lord that I was stoned. ♪ Well he did it one time. And ABC censors came up and said, Uh, Johnny, Uh, great song. Oh, we actually can't uh, in
any way, put on the lyrics wishing Lord that I was stoned because it's clearly an
allusion to marijuana and it's in the country tradition. He'd do something about alcohol, but marijuana is a no-go. You have to change that. You wishing Lord, I was home? I wrote it wishing Lord that I was stoned. I wished I was stoned. So when it comes time to
record the song in that show, they put Kris way up in the rafters. 'Cause he was, he was on the fringes, man. So the song starts and he's like ♪ On a Sunday morning sidewalk, ♪ and then his gaze goes right up to Kris in the very back rows like ♪ Wishing Lord that I was stoned ♪ ♪ 'Cause there's something
in the sidewalk ♪ ♪ Makes somebody feel alone. ♪ - [Eric] And Kris said
he felt his heart warm. God bless, you know, my song's on TV. And it meant the world to Kris 'cause his hero did right by him. Once Johnny Cash says it's cool, well, everybody wants to
record Kristofferson's song. Waylon Jennings, Joni Mitchell,
James Taylor, Janis Joplin. Kris Kriscoff- Kris Kristofferson became the biggest star in the world truly in 1976 and it's been forgotten. He was the biggest star
in the world at the time. Kris was huge. (Warm Fanfare Music)
