To black people in the South, the so-called ‘summer of love’ might as well have been taking place on the Moon. At the time when Dr. Martin Luther King preached, Jim Crow laws were still in effect. Black people weren’t allowed to use common washrooms, water fountains or restaurants. It took Rosa Parks to bring attention to the back of the bus; and idealistic students from New York met their deaths when they tried to lend their support to those struggling for equality.
Dr. King envisioned the day this inequality and violence would end. Tragically he wouldn’t live to see it. On April 4, 1968 Dr. King was silenced by a bullet…But his dream endures.
Two young southern brothers loved music, and they loved other people who made music. If those folks happened to come in all colors, the brothers didn’t notice. Musicians speak one language, and that’s all that matters. Maybe that’s a lesson for the rest of us? Dr. King’s assassination hit young songwriter Greggory Allman deeply. He was moved to write this song immediately. It was recorded by Gregg & Duane’s teenage band ‘The Hourglass’ – long before there was an “Allman Brothers Band”