Spotify and the role it plays in the spread of music in the modern era will continue to inspire controversy and legal battles into the future. No one, listeners or musicians alike, can deny that the streaming service's playlist in honor of Martin Luther King on the Civil Rights leader's national holiday is spot-on. Spotify has assembled an epic playlist of King's most influential speeches and the music inspired by his actions, available for listening now.
The "Martin Luther King, Jr." playlist starts off on a modern foot with "Glory," the song from the film Selma performed by John Legend and Common, which recently won a Golden Glboe for Best Original Song and is expected (by the Music Times staff at least) to win the same award at the Oscars. The next track in the playlist is where things get serious however: The full 17:30 audio of his "I Have A Dream" speech, in all likelihood the greatest narration of the 20th Century.
Another track from Common, "A Dream," from his collaboration with Will.i.am for Freedom Writers, serves as a light moment before a recording of King's final speech before his assassination. Other classic pieces of audio, such as his eulogy for Robert Kennedy, "The Great March to Washington" and his comments on the Vietnam War fill the rest of the five-and-a-half hour playlist.
Other music comes from performers such as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and U2 fill up the spaces in between.
Even if it's while you catch up on reading or doing chores around the house, nothing could possibly provide a better soundtrack for Martin Luther King day than this excellent set of recordings.
Go back to hating Spotify tomorrow if need be.
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