Donny Hathaway vs. Bobby Womack | Head 2 Head

In the 19^th edition of Head 2 Head (2024), Donny Hathaway and Bobby Womack contend for the best rendition of “Someday We’ll All Be Free.”

Welcome to Head 2 Head! On Head 2 Head, we pit at least two musicians performing the same song, comparing their respective performances.  Then, after much deliberation, we deliver a verdict of which performance was the best, or at least, subjectively, which performance moved us more.  In the 19^th  edition of Head 2 Head (2024), Donny Hathaway and Bobby Womack contend for the best rendition of “Someday We’ll All Be Free”. So, without further ado, let the Head 2 Head commence!

1. Donny Hathaway, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”

Extensions of a Man // Atlantic // 1973

“Hang on to the world as it spins around / Just don’t let the spin get you down.” Prudent words, Donny Hathaway. Mental health is real, something more readily acknowledged in the 21^st century compared to the 20^th when Hathaway lived. Sadly, the short-lived, musical genius, passed away at age 33 in 1979. Despite an untimely death, he left his mark with a brilliant catalog, including the ballad, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”. “Keep on walking tall / Hold your head high,” he sings, in an uplifting fashion, in the second verse, adding, “Lay your dreams right up to the sky / Sing your greatest song / And you’ll keep going, going on.” Word!

“Someday We’ll All Be Free” is the second track on Hathaway’s 1973 album, Extension of a Man. He composed it alongside Edward Howard (lyricist) with Arif Mardin producing the soulful gem. “Someday” features a gorgeous palette of sounds: guitar, electric piano, bass, drums, and orchestra. The highlights of the orchestra include a dynamic trumpet solo, performed by Marvin Stamm.  Beyond the instrumental, the soulful pipes by Hathaway shine brightly. Furthermore, he nails the tuneful melodies. The harmonic progression is also sweet, while Howard’s lyrics, sung utterly sublimely, are where Hathaway’s bread is buttered. Of course, the liberated, one-line chorus marks the lyric to beat: “Take it from me, someday we’ll all be free, yeah.” “Someday We’ll All Be Free” is a masterpiece, PERIOD!

Appears in 🔻:

• Donny Hathaway, Someday We’ll All Be Free: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 67 (2024)

2. Bobby Womack, “Someday We’ll All Be Free”

Someday We’ll All Be Free // ABKCO Music & Records, Inc. // 1985

“Take it from me, someday (someday) Lord said that we’d be free.” Amen! “Someday We’ll All Be Free” appears as the second track on Someday We’ll All Be Free, released by Bobby Womack in 1985.  Compared to the original by the late, great Donny Hathaway, the Womack version is significantly slower in tempo. The introduction is prolonged, with the first minute featuring the instrumental.  The sound is lush but updated for a different era (the 1980s).  Early on, there’s a soulful saxophone solo, on-brand for the ear. Post-instrumental, Womack provides spoken word, preceding the melodic lyrics (“You know it’s frightening when you really just have a chance to sit back and just check what’s going on around you”).  He’s reflective about the state of the world against the electronic, ‘adult contemporary R&B’ backdrop.

Nearly two minutes in, Womack begins singing the famous melody (“Hang, hang on to the world as it spins around / Yes sir”).  Notably, he tweaks the melody and lyrics, infusing his soul-isms and ad-libs.  His vocals are commanding, gritty, and filled with nuance.  The authenticity and passion that Hathaway possessed remain intact in Womack’s hands – you buy what he’s selling! Is it a wee bit too slow? A bit draggy? Maybe but at the same time, Bobby intentionally milks this awesome soul classic for everything it’s worth.  He gets the most out of it.  Also, while mental health remains part of the formula, Womack focuses even more on being the best, most upstanding man you can be – don’t compromise it for the world or anybody else. He provides his signature spin, including magnificent, backing response vocals in the final minute-and-a-half.  Bobby Womack shines on his epic cover.

Appears in 🔻:

• Bobby Womack, Someday We’ll All Be Free: Covers No. 19 (2024)

The Verdict 👨🏿‍⚖️

So, which is the freest rendition of “Someday We’ll All Be Free”? Is it the original by the surefire, musical genius, Donny Hathaway, or the updated, 1980s cover by Bobby Womack?  You can’t go wrong with either version, PERIOD. Womack was a force himself in soul music.  His grittier version oozes with S-O-U-L.  Still, there was only one Donny Hathaway, and he ‘put his foot’ into “Someday We’ll All Be Free”.  Struggling with mental health, when you hear Hathaway seek that freedom – liberation from within his head – it moves you and makes you empathize with his struggles.  So, the winner is the one-and-only Donny Hathaway.

Donny Hathaway vs. Bobby Womack: Head 2 Head No. 19 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; ABKCO Music & Records, Inc., Atlantic; Hernán Toro, Los Muertos Crew, RDNE Stock project, Thomas Ronveaux from Pexels]