"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler. It was first recorded by Dion, in a version that was a substantial North American chart hit in 1968–1969. Near-simultaneous cover versions by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Moms Mabley also charted in the U.S. in 1969, and a version that same year by Marvin Gaye became the hit version in the UK. It was also a hit as part of a medley (with "What the World Needs Now Is Love") for Tom Clay in 1971, and has subsequently been recorded by many other artists. Holler was particularly impressed that Bob Dylan covered the song.[1]
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:
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;
I just looked around and he was gone.
After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions "Bobby" (referencing Robert F. Kennedy), and ends with a description of him "walking over the 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 song features a flugelhorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums.
Dion was a recovering heroin addict living in South Florida when Holler and Gernhard brought him the song, and had turned his career toward acoustic folk singing. Holler had written the song in St. Petersburg, Florida, shortly after hearing about Robert Kennedy's death.[3] Dion performed the song on The Smothers Brother Comedy Hour in October 1968.[4] Although it was quite unlike the rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration in the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968. It reached number 2 in Cash Box, number 4 on the Hot 100,[3] and number 1 on Chicago station WLS[5] and was awarded an RIAAgold record for selling a million copies. In Canada, it topped the charts, reaching number 1 in the RPM 100 on November 25, 1968.[6] In 2001, this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century list.[7] The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Easy Listening survey. The personnel on the original recording included Vinnie Bell and Ralph Casale on guitar, Nick DeCaro on organ, David Robinson on drums, Gloria Agostini on harp, and George Marge on oboe and English horn.
Marvin Gaye, with an orchestral arrangement by Norman Whitfield, also recorded a version in 1969 that became a top-ten hit (reaching number 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 1971 album, What's Going On.)
Comedian Moms Mabley performed a completely serious version that hit the U.S. Top 40. It reached number 35 in July 1969 and number 18 on the R&B charts, making Mabley (at 75) the oldest living person to have a U.S. Top 40 hit.[16][17]
Marillion released two versions in 1999. A live recording was on their Unplugged at the Walls album, and a studio version on their fan club Christmas CD the same year.
Whitney Houston performed the song in her live concert in 1997 that aired on VH1 and HBO as Whitney Houston: Live Washington DC.
Wilson Pickett recorded a variation of the song, "Cole, Cooke & Redding" (US number 91 / Canada number 58), as the B-side of his 1970 version of The Archies' hit "Sugar, Sugar". His version altered the lyrics to eulogize the titular three deceased icons of black music.
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 (an adult asking a child to define several words associated with social unrest), sound bites from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bites from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination, and his eulogy by his brother Edward M. Kennedy. It reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[18] on August 14, 1971 and number 32 on the R&B charts.[19] It reached number 3 in Australia.[20]
