I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

Recorded in 1963 for Tower Records, the session featured Billy Taylor on piano leading his trio, with the track marking one of the first recordings of the composition Taylor co-wrote with Dick Dallas. The original recording introduced what would become a defining anthem of the civil rights movement, its lyrical yearning for freedom aligning directly with the political and social upheaval of the early 1960s. The composition became a standard recorded by hundreds of artists across multiple genres, most notably Nina Simone whose 1967 version on RCA Victor brought the song to global recognition, and it has since been used as a civil rights anthem, a film theme, and a BBC programme signature tune.