Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day south of the border falls on the actual date of what would have been the civil rights icon’s 89th birthday.
While Americans celebrate the holiday, here are three songs that celebrate King and his legacy.
Martin Luther King Jr. actually has a songwriter’s credit on this 2006 track because it samples his famous “I have a dream” speech. “It’s a cold war / I’m a cold soldier,” Common raps. “Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the king.”
Featured on U2’s 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire, this song is about MLK, although it’s not historically accurate. Bono sings about King’s assassination as happening “early morning, April 4” even though it happened just after 6 pm. Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders sings backing vocals on the track.
This upbeat song, released in 1981, was a call to make MLK’s birthday a national holiday in the U.S. There ought to be a law against anyone who takes offence / at a day in your celebration,” Wonder sings. “I just never understood / how a man who died for good / could not have a day that would be set aside for his recognition.” Wonder headlined the first MLK Day concert in 1986.