<Table> <Tr> <Td> "Cousin of Mine" (1964) </Td> <Td> "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) </Td> <Td> "It's Got The Whole World Shakin"' (1965) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "Cousin of Mine" (1964) </Td> <Td> "A Change Is Gonna Come" (1964) </Td> <Td> "It's Got The Whole World Shakin"' (1965) </Td> </Tr> <P> "A Change Is Gonna Come" is a song by American recording artist Sam Cooke, released on December 22, 1964, by RCA Victor . Produced by Hugo & Luigi and arranged and conducted by René Hall, the song was the B - side to "Shake". </P> <P> The song was inspired by various personal events in Cooke's life, most prominently an event in which he and his entourage were turned away from a whites only motel in Louisiana . Cooke felt compelled to write a song that spoke to his struggle and of those around him, and he recorded the song for its first release on his final album, Ain't That Good News . The song, released in 1964, pertains to the Civil Rights Movement, African - Americans and contains the refrain, "It's been a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come ." </P>

Who wrote the song a change is going to come