Flashback: Anthem for Civil Rights Movement Resulted From Error in Transcription

In 1962, singer-activist Joan Baez invited Dr. Martin Luther King and his wife to dinner. Dr. King telephoned Baez to accept her invitation and spoke with her secretary.

“Please tell Ms. Baez we shall come over,” Dr. King said.

But the secretary erroneously scribbled, “Please tell Ms. Baez we shall overcome,” and the rest is history.