Brittany Howard was the featured musical guest on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she performed a variation of The Beatles‘ “Revolution” made famous by Nina Simone.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Alabama Shakes singer secured five Grammy nominations for her 2019 solo album, Jaime. The nominations included Best Rock Performance for “Stay High”, Best Rock Song for writing that same tune, Best Alternative Album, Best R&B Performance for “Goat Head”, and Best American Roots Performance for “Short and Sweet”.
Related: Brittany Howard, Margo Price Interview Each Other For Rolling Stone [Watch]
In this bluesy response song to The Beatles’ famous track, Howard (and earlier Simone) countered the simplistic message of revolution by passivity presented by the Fab Four. Instead, these two Black female singers have experienced a far different reality than the one presented to four of the most famous white men of the 20th century.
This version of “Revolution” differs greatly from the one found on the White Album, though it does employ some of the same lyrics like “constitution”, “destruction”, or “you know it’s gonna be alright” at just the right moment to inspire the comparison. Howard’s callback to the powerful figure that is Nina Simone comes at a pivotal time, as a “Revolution” is brewing across the United States on a variety of fronts.
Watch Brittany Howard perform Nina Simone’s response to The Beatles’ “Revolution” on Colbert.
Brittany Howard – “Revolution” (Nina Simone)
[Video: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert]