вЂњFor many years no one tried to вЂmake it theirsвЂ™ as covers are supposed to do,вЂќ he says. Yes, things are happening, but how do you change it for the good?вЂќДЇor his part, Stills says he is вЂњboth proud and delightedвЂќ that Porter revived the song. In the news cycle, I find thereвЂ™s a lot of complaining and a lot of statements and observations, but not a lot of focus on how we change or address things. вЂњI knew I wanted to say something and it needed to be positive and hopeful, and I was just singing over the end. Porter improvised a new ending, where he riffs and improvs on the word вЂњchange.вЂќ вЂњIt all came out organically,вЂќ he says. вЂњI wanted to honor the original intention while holding on to who I am and where I come from.вЂќ вЂњI wanted it to be like Aretha FranklinвЂ™s version of вЂEleanor Rigby,вЂ™вЂќ he says. Working with producer Zack Arnett last September, Porter adhered to some parts of the original - the stark drum beat and a recreation of Neil YoungвЂ™s spooky guitar notes - but also gave it an R&B and hip-hop feel.

вЂњIn the sense that it puts whatвЂ™s happening right out in front.вЂќ вЂњI looked at the lyrics and they reminded me very much of our news cycle,вЂќ he says. When Porter read over the lyrics, they struck him as attuned to the times in ways he hadnвЂ™t expected. Back then, protest music was a thing, so it seemed perfect.вЂќ Porter was born two years after the original version of вЂњFor What ItвЂ™s WorthвЂќ was released, but he says he was already familiar with it when his manager suggested he cut his own version. Fortunately, succeeding generations have found something in it that touches them personally or alludes to their own sense of foreboding during tumultuous times.вЂќ

вЂњI purposefully resisted the urge to rewrite or expand upon my theme and let the metaphors speak for themselves. вЂњAs the lyrics tumbled out, I quickly realized that my little song spoke to much more than simply a confrontation between a gathering of young people paying a last visit to a favorite music bar about to be demolished and a rather excessive number of LAPD riot police intent on dispersing the overflow crowd that had spilled into the street,вЂќ Stills says. ItвЂ™s become one of the go-to pop protest songs of the last five decades, covered by Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne, Lucinda Williams, Kid Rock, Rush, the Staple Singers, Nancy Wilson of Heart and many more.

Originally inspired by a Sunset Strip protest over a club curfew, which resulted in a clash with police, the song -with its nods to paranoia and guns - has transcended its time. So looking forward, I knew it was an election year and I wanted to find material that would speak to that process.вЂќДЄt the suggestion of his manager, Porter turned to Stephen StillsвЂ™ вЂњFor What ItвЂ™s Worth,вЂќ which Stills first wrote and recorded with Buffalo Springfield in 1966 it became their only hit the following year. вЂњI came of age as an artist during the AIDS crisis and IвЂ™ve always used my voice in that way. вЂњIвЂ™ve always been a political artist,вЂќ says the actor, singer and star of Pose and BroadwayвЂ™s Kinky Boots. Last fall, Billy Porter realized a presidential election was on the horizon and decided the time had come to motivate voters through song.

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