Compared to What
1969 · Atlantic 2694 · New York City, New York
- Artist
- Les McCann & Eddie Harris
- Title
- Compared to What
- Release
- Compared to What / Cold Duck
- Year
- 1969
- Label
- Atlantic # 2694
- Format
- 7" · Single
- Language
- English
- Country
- New York City, New York, USA
- Songwriter
- Gene McDaniels
- Genre
- Jazz · Soul Jazz
- Primary theme
- Peace, Protest & Anti-War
Annotation
The protest song "Compared to What" (Atlantic # 2694), written by soul vocalist Gene McDaniels, became a hit with this jazz version, recorded live at the 1969 Montreux Jazz Festival. Inspired by the civil rights and Vietnam War protest movement, McDaniels' angry lyrics first appeared on the opening track of Roberta Flack's debut album First Take (see the single Compared to What). McCann and Harris took Flack's delicate soul version and added strength to the beat, which took their album Swiss Movement to the top of the jazz charts. The song went on to be covered by over 250 artists, such Mr. Flood's Party (Compared to What) and Ray Charles (Compared to What). (1) (2) The narrator noted "the President, he’s got his war, folks don’t know just what it’s for".
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
About the artist
Les McCann - Born 23 September 1935, Lexington, Kentucky, USA, Died 29 December 2023, California, USA. Eddie Harris - Born 20 October 1934, Chicago, Illinois, USA, Died 5 November 1996, Los Angeles, California, USA