The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. Scott-Heron first recorded it for his 1970 album Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, on which he recited the lyrics, accompanied by congas and bongo drums. A re-recorded version, with a full band, was the B-side to Scott-Heron's first single, "Home Is Where the Hatred Is", from his album Pieces of a Man (1971). It was also included on his compilation album, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (1974). All these releases were issued on the Flying Dutchman Productions record label.

For other uses, see The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (disambiguation).

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
Single by Gil Scott-Heron
from the album Pieces of a Man
A-side"Home Is Where the Hatred Is"
Released1971
Recorded
Genre
Length3:07
LabelFlying Dutchman
Songwriter(s)Gil Scott-Heron
Producer(s)Bob Thiele
Gil Scott-Heron singles chronology
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
(1971)		 "The Bottle"
(1974)
Audio sample
"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
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The song's title was originally a popular slogan among the 1960s Black Power movements in the United States.[2] Its lyrics either mention or allude to several television series, advertising slogans and icons of entertainment and news coverage that serve as examples of what "the revolution will not" be or do. The song is a response to the spoken-word piece "When the Revolution Comes" by The Last Poets, from their eponymous debut, which opens with the line "When the revolution comes some of us will probably catch it on TV".[3]

It was inducted to the National Recording Registry in 2005.[4]

Cultural references in the poem
  • The Sarah Jones song "Your Revolution," a feminist interpretation of the song criticizing misogyny in mainstream hip hop, with the key line "Your revolution will not happen between these thighs". A radio station that played the song was fined by the FCC.[12]
  • In 1995, Nike released a basketball interpretation of the poem narrated by KRS-One accompanied by a similar bass & flute instrumental in a commercial featuring Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson, Eddie Jones, Joe Smith, & Kevin Garnett as the revolutionary leaders wearing Nike sneakers while playing basketball, concluding with KRS-One narrating, "The Revolution is about basketball, and basketball is the truth.[13]
  • The opening line of "Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach", performed by Snoop Dogg on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach, is "The revolution will be televised".[14]
  • In 2010, New Statesman magazine listed it as one of the "Top 20 Political Songs".[15]
  • In 2011, after Scott-Heron's death, Lupe Fiasco released a poem dedicated to him titled "The Television Will Not Be Revolutionized".[16][17]
  • In June 2013, a sign quoting the poem's title (in Greek) was posted on a window inside the Greek state broadcaster ERT as employees resisted its closure by the government under pressure from the troika of the EU, ECB and the IMF to cut public spending under their austerity regime.[18]
  • Released in September 2013, South Korean entertainer G-Dragon's "Coup d'Etat" contains a vocal sample of "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".[19][20][21]
  • The song "Countdown to Armageddon", performed by Public Enemy, contains the lyric "This time around, the revolution will not be televised".[22]
  • The song "Wu-Revolution" by the Wu-Tang Clan contains background lyrics "The revolution will be televised." and "The revolution should be televised." as a variation on Scott-Heron's message.[23]
  • The song "6 Summers" by Anderson Paak states "The revolution will not be televised/ But it will be streamed live/ In 1080p on your pea-brain head in the face ass mobile device/ Alright?"[24]
  • The teaser trailer for Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) features the song.[25]
  • During the 2020-21 United States racial unrest, the phrase "The Manny Will Not Be Televised" referenced both the song and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid character Manny Heffley, since many of the protestors grew up reading the series.[26]

References
  1. Gorton, TJ (July 30, 2018). "BeatCaffeine's 100 Best Jazz-Funk Songs". BeatCaffeine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  2. Hamilton, Charles V.; Ture, Kwame (1967). Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America. New York City: Random House. ISBN 0679743138. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  3. Al Nasir, Abdul Malik (June 6, 2018). "Jalal Mansur Nuriddin: farewell to the 'grandfather of rap'". The Guardian. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  4. "The National Recording Registry 2005". The Library of Congress. October 25, 2006. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  5. Mansnerus, Laura (June 1, 1996). "Timothy Leary, Pied Piper Of Psychedelic 60's, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  6. Green, Jonathon (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing. p. 1232. ISBN 978-0-304-36636-1.
  7. Dex (May 31, 2005). "Why are the police called cops, pigs, or the fuzz?". The Straight Dope. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  8. Marconi, Joe (1999). The Brand Marketing Book. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 108–9. ISBN 0-8442-2257-7.
  9. Mahon, Maureen (2020). Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll. Duke University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-4780-1277-1. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  10. "Eagle Poetry". Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  11. "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron-Topic on YouTube". Archived from the original on May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  12. Lee, Chisum (June 19, 2001). "Counter 'Revolution'". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on September 15, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Review: Gorillaz, Plastic Beach". The Quietus. March 5, 2010. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  15. Smith, Ian (March 25, 2010). "Top 20 Political Songs: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". New Statesman. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
  16. Shetler, Scott (June 2, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Pays Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron in Original Composition". PopCrush. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  17. Horowitz, Steven (May 31, 2011). "Lupe Fiasco Pens A Tribute To Gil Scott-Heron". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  18. Wearden, Graeme (June 12, 2013). "Greece's state broadcaster defies government closure; RBS boss in shock resignation - as it happened". The Guardian. London, England. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  19. "[Album Review] G-Dragon 'Coup De'Tat'". Allkpop. 6Theory Media. September 14, 2013. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  20. "Coup D'etat, Pt. 1". Allmusic. Archived from the original on October 2, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  21. Kenner, Rob (September 9, 2013). "G-Dragon Covers Complex's "Coup d'Etat" Week!". Complex Magazine. Archived from the original on September 12, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  22. Anderson, Reynaldo; Jones, Charles E. (2015). Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness. Lexington Books. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-4985-1051-6. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  23. Opsahl, Carl Petter (2016). Dance To My Ministry: Exploring Hip-Hop Spirituality. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 978-3-647-60454-1. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  24. Bruner, Raisa (November 16, 2018). "5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week". Time. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  25. "Summer of Soul Teaser Trailer (2021)". Movieclips Indie. YouTube. April 25, 2021. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  26. Shah, Easheta (July 29, 2020). "OK Boomer, hear The Manny out". The Michigan Daily. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
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