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 three-piece 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).
This recording was still sparsely instrumented, but now, in addition to drums, featured a driving bassline played by Jerry Jemmott and, somewhat unconventionally, a jazz-infused flute line by Hubert Laws throughout, acting as a countermelody to Heron's passionately delivered spoken word vocal.
This sparse and rhythm-driven backdrop to Heron's incisive vocal, held down by Bernard Purdie's tight and explosive funk drumming, and eschewing thick chordal accompaniment, foreshadowed musical developments in hip-hop in the decade to come.
The song's 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.