Who Wrote We Shall Overcome?
Was it Pete Seeger?
Who Owns the Song Today?
Do You Have to Pay to Use It?
Is "I'll Overcome Someday" by Rev. Charles Albert Tindley the Basis for "We Shall Overcome"?
For more than half a century, these questions have gone unanswered or obscured. But thanks to a decade of historical research and legal action, the truth has been brought to light.
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." — John 8:32, NKJV
The Hidden Truth Behind We Shall Overcome:
20 Facts You Were Never Supposed to Know
Fact 1
Since 1960, New York-based music publisher Ludlow Music, Inc.—owned by The Richmond Organization (TRO)—has claimed exclusive rights to "We Shall Overcome," known globally as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The Library of Congress has called it "The Most Powerful Song of the Twentieth Century."
Fact 2
The 1960 and 1963 copyrights were filed by Ludlow Music, naming folk singers Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton, and Zilphia Horton (deceased in 1956) as "adapters." Pete Seeger was added in 1963 after the March on Washington.
Fact 3
The 1960 copyright was not registered as original works, but as an "arrangement" (a legal term for derivative works) of a previously registered song titled "I'll Overcome." Despite occasional claims to the contrary, both TRO and Pete Seeger have privately admitted that Rev. Charles Tindley’s hymn, "I’ll Overcome Someday," is not the musical basis for "We Shall Overcome." Neither the 1960 nor 1963 copyrights made any mention of Rev. Tindley as the original author of We Shall Overcome.
Fact 4
U.S. copyright law defines a musical arrangement as a derivative work. (See: https://copyright.gov/circs/circ14.pdf)
Fact 5
Derivative works require permission from the original author. Ludlow Music never obtained such permission.
Fact 6
U.S. law is clear: If a derivative work is made without authorization, it is not eligible for copyright protection.
Fact 7
Ludlow Music and its named adapters never obtained permission from the creator of the original work.
Fact 8
The copyright filings explicitly exclude "Verse 1"—the most well-known and defining stanza—from the new material they claimed to contribute.
Fact 9
That first verse reads:
We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome, someday.
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome, someday.
Fact 10
This verse forms the emotional and cultural core of the song and is universally recognized as its essence.
Fact 11
TRO and its associates knowingly excluded the core verse from their copyright claims, acknowledging they did not own it.
Fact 12
Despite this knowledge, they registered the copyright and profited from it for decades.
Fact 13
Their intent was clearly commercial—profiting from licensing and royalty fees.
Fact 14
The Richmond Organization is a dominant force in the $2.2 billion-per-year U.S. music publishing industry.
Fact 15
TRO executive Irwin Z. Robinson simultaneously held leadership positions at major industry groups like the NMPA and ASCAP, demonstrating the power and reach of this organization.
Fact 16
These influences enabled TRO to charge filmmakers, musicians, and public organizations licensing fees for a song they did not lawfully control.
Fact 17
For decades, they leveraged this influence to profit from and restrict access to the anthem, including denying its use in social justice projects.
Fact 18
In 2013, producers of Lee Daniels’ The Butler were told by TRO to pay $100,000 for a 30-second clip of "We Shall Overcome." They eventually paid $15,000 for 3-seconds, under protest—despite TRO having no legal right to demand payment.
Fact 19
In truth, We Shall Overcome belongs in the public domain. You do not have to pay to use it. You are free to sing it, publish it, record it, or perform it.
Fact 20
The most likely original author of the song is Louise Shropshire, a Cincinnati gospel composer whose hymn, "If My Jesus Wills," was copyrighted in 1954. Her melody and lyrics bear striking similarities to early versions of "We Shall Overcome," particularly the version taught to Pete Seeger by Zilphia Horton in 1947, titled "We Will Overcome." During her lifetime, Shropshire claimed that We Shall Overcome was based on her popular hymn, “I’ll Overcome Someday”, more commonly known as “I’ll Overcome”
Supporting Evidence
1. Court documents and discovery of public record from the We Shall Overcome Foundation and Butler Films, LLC v. The Richmond Organization and Ludlow Music, class-action lawsuit, case number 1:16-cv-02725.
2. U.S. Library of Congress copyright of "If My Jesus Wills" by Louise Shropshire (1954)
3. Musicological analyses by two independent experts comparing Shropshire’s hymn to the 1960 Copyright Deposit Copy of We Shall Overcome, and Zilphia Horton’s 1947 recording of "We Will Overcome"
4. Interviews and Performance recordings of Shropshire’s original version by members of her Rosebud Choir
5. Transcripts and recording of Zilphia Horton’s 1947 recorded interview and performance of "We Will Overcome"
The Lawsuit That Changed Everything
In 2016, the We Shall Overcome Foundation, led by Isaias Gamboa, filed a federal lawsuit challenging TRO’s control of the song. In January 2018, the court ruled in favor of WSOF. We Shall Overcome was returned to the public domain.
So, Who Wrote and Owns We Shall Overcome?
Not Pete Seeger, Guy Carawan, Frank Hamilton of Zilphia Horton.
Not The Richmond Organization.
Louise Shropshire’s hymn," If My Jesus Wills", more commonly known as "I'll Overcome" is the song’s true original ancestor.
And now, it belongs to us all.
We Shall Overcome. Someday.
