NEW * Abraham, Martin & John - Dion 1968 {Stereo}

1968.....#4 U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #2 U.S. Cash Box Top 100, #1 Canada, #12 New Zealand Re-posted from original date, 1/26/2016. Original live performance video edited and AI remastered with HQ studio sound. "Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler. It was first recorded by Dion, and in 1969 by Marvin Gaye. It is a tribute to the memory of four assassinated Americans, all icons of social change: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written in response to the assassination of King and that of Robert Kennedy in April and June 1968, respectively. The original version, recorded by Dion, featured a gentle folk rock production from Phil Gernhard and arrangement from John Abbott. The song features a flugelhorn, an electric organ, bass, and drums. Although it was quite unlike the rock sound that Dion had become famous for in the early 1960s, and even more unlike Holler and Gernhard's previous collaboration in the 1966 novelty smash "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron", "Abraham, Martin and John" nonetheless was a major American hit single in late 1968. It reached #4 on the Hot 100 and #1 on Chicago station WLS and was awarded an RIAA gold record for selling a million copies. In Canada, it topped the charts, reaching #1 in the RPM 100 on November 25, 1968. In 2001 this recording would be ranked number 248 on the RIAA's Songs of the Century list. The record was also popular with adult listeners, reaching #8 on Billboard's Easy Listening survey. The personnel on the original recording included Vinnie Bell and Ralph Casale on guitar, Nick DeCaro on organ, David Robinson on drums, Gloria Agostini on harp, and George Marge on oboe and English horn.