Abraham, Martin and John

"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. 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.
Lyrics.
Each of the first three verses features one of the men named in the song's title, for example:
After a bridge, the fourth and final verse mentions "Bobby" (referencing Robert F. Kennedy), and ends with a description of him walking over a hill with the other three men.
Dion recording.
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.
As part of medleys.
The song is also featured on Tom Clay's 1971 "What the World Needs Now Is Love/Abraham, Martin, and John", a medley combining Dion's recording with Jackie DeShannon's recording of Burt Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now Is Love", along with vocals by The Blackberries. Clay's recording features narration (an adult asking a child to define several words associated with social unrest), sound bites from speeches given by President John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., along with sound bites from the live press coverage of Robert Kennedy's assassination, and his eulogy by his brother Edward M. Kennedy. It reached No. 8 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart on August 14, 1971 and #32 on the R&B charts. It reached #3 in Australia.
In 1997, Whitney Houston sang a rendition of "Abraham, Martin and John" that aired on VH1 and HBO: "Whitney Houston: Live Washington DC".