Get Together (Youngbloods song)

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"Get Together"
Youngbloods Get Together.jpg
Single by The Youngbloods
from the album The Youngbloods
B-side
  • "All My Dreams Blue" (original)
  • "Beautiful" (re-issue)
ReleasedJuly 1967 (original)
June 1969 (re-issue)
Recorded1966
GenreFolk rock, psychedelic rock[1]
Length4:37
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Chet Powers
Producer(s)Felix Pappalardi
The Youngbloods singles chronology
"Darkness, Darkness"
(1969) 		"Get Together"
(1967) 		"Sunlight"
(1969)
Audio
"Get Together" on YouTube

"Get Together", also known as "Let's Get Together", is a song by American rock band The Youngbloods, originally included in their 1967 self-titled debut album The Youngbloods. It was written in the mid-1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (stage name Dino Valenti), from psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service.[2] The single was The Youngbloods' only Top 40 on Billboard Hot 100.[3][2]

Background[]

The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. It is best remembered for the impassioned plea in the lines of its refrain ("Come on people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now"), which is repeated several times in succession to bring the song to its conclusion.[2]

Original recording history[]

The song was originally recorded as "Let's Get Together" by the Kingston Trio in a live performance in March 1964 that was released on June 1, 1964, on their album Back in Town.[4] While it was not released as a single, this version was the first to bring the song to the attention of the general public. The Kingston Trio often performed it live.

Both the Dino Valenti version and The Youngbloods version appear on the album Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970.

Cover versions[]

  • A pre-Byrds David Crosby recorded "Get Together" around the same time as the Trio, but possibly a few weeks later, since the band arrangement includes the riff from the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout", released earlier in Britain but not in the United States until April. Crosby's version was recorded at World Pacific Studios, Los Angeles. It was produced by Jim Dickson as a four-song demo that Crosby recorded before joining the Byrds.
  • A version of the song first broke into the top forty in 1965, when We Five, produced by Kingston Trio manager Frank Werber, released "Let's Get Together" as the follow-up to their top ten hit "You Were on My Mind". While it did not achieve the same level of success as the other, "Let's Get Together" provided the group with a second top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at number 31.[5] It would be their last hit record. The Mitchell Trio released the album "That's the Way It's Going to Be" in 1965 which included the song, sung by John Denver who replaced Chad Mitchell.
  • Children of Rain, a New York City-based folk trio/duo, were the second artists to release the song as a single, on Dot Records (45-16868) in April 1966.[6]
  • "Let's Get Together" was the third song on side 2 of Jefferson Airplane's first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, released in August 1966. As Tim Jurgens said in his review of the album in the January 1967 issue of Crawdaddy,[7] "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off is the most important album of American rock issued this year (1966); it is the first LP to come out of the new San Francisco music scene..". He called "Let's Get Together" a "most sensitive, hopeful and contemporary ballad", and wondered why it isn't sung in church. However, the song wasn't released as a single, although the album did make the top 100 of 1966, as number 97.
  • The most notable recording came in 1967, when the Youngbloods released their version of the song under the title "Get Together". It became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at number 62 and reaching 37 on the US adult contemporary chart.[8] However, renewed interest in the Youngbloods' version came when it was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews.[2] The Youngbloods' version, the most-remembered today, was re-released in 1969, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[9]
  • Another version was released in 1967 by the Chicago psychedelic group H. P. Lovecraft on their debut album.
  • Another Chicago band, The Cryan' Shames, covered it on their third album, Synthesis.
  • In 1968, the Sunshine Company released a version of the song titled "Let's Get Together" as a single that reached number 112 on the Billboard chart.[10]
  • Also in 1968, the Canadian group 3's a Crowd released their version of the song as a single, titled "Let's Get Together". It peaked at number 70 on Canada's national singles chart.[11]
  • The group The Yankee Dollar released their version of the song on their self-titled album in 1968.
  • The Staple Singers recorded a soul-infused version on their 1968 album What the World Needs Now Is Love.
  • The group Smith recorded a version on their 1969 debut album, sung by Gayle McCormick
  • Canadian folk singer Bonnie Dobson recorded a slower version on her 1969 self-titled album.
  • It was recorded by the Carpenters as the fourth track on their debut album Offering (later re-released as Ticket to Ride).
  • In 1970, Gwen and Jerry Collins released a version of the song as a single that reached number 34 on the US country chart.[12]
  • In March 1970, the Dave Clark Five reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart with their version retitled "Everybody Get Together".[13]
  • In April 1970, Johnny Cash recorded a version of the song on his television series The Johnny Cash Show.[14]
  • In 1989, a cover by the Indigo Girls was part of the Wonder Years: Music from the Emmy Award-Winning Show & Its Era soundtrack.
  • The band David and the Giants released a cover of Get Together on their album Giant Hits.[15]
  • In 1995, Big Mountain released a version of the song as a single that reached number 28 on the US adult contemporary chart and number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] It also reached number 32 on Cash Box.[17]
  • In 1999, Garth Brooks, recording under his short-lived, fictitious alter ego Chris Gaines, recorded a song called Right Now, which puts a rap and alternative rock spin on the song with Brooks (as Gaines) singing the original chorus of Get Together.
  • In 2009, Electronic Dance Music artist Sir Ivan first released a version of the song on his I Am Peaceman album. Then later in 2018, Sir Ivan enlisted a number of high-profile remixers and re-released a remix EP that reached number No. 36 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart.[18]
  • In 2020, on NBC's comedy-drama series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist the characters of Joan (Lauren Graham) and Ava (Renée Elise Goldsberry) sing the song along with the SPRQ Point staff.

Chart history[]

Weekly charts[]

The Youngbloods
Chart (1967) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 62
US Cash Box Top 100[20] 80
Canada RPM Top Singles[21] 40

Legacy[]

See also[]

  • List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States

References[]

  1. ^ Fontenot, Robert (October 29, 2015). "What is Folk-Rock Music?". ThoughtCo. About.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Cole, Tom (April 10, 2019). "Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season". American Anthem. NPR. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 270. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  4. ^ The Kingston Trio, Back in Town Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  5. ^ We Five charting singles Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  6. ^ "Pam Meacham and The Children Of Rain – Get Together / Dawn To Dusk". www.discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Tim, Jurgens. "Crawdaddy archives". Crawdaddy Magazine 1966–1968. Vista Services. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  8. ^ The Youngbloods, "Get Together" 1967 chart positions Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  9. ^ The Youngbloods, "Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  10. ^ The Sunshine Company, "Let's Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  11. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles – May 11, 1968" (PDF).
  12. ^ Gwen & Jerry Collins, "Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  13. ^ The Dave Clark Five, "Everybody Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  14. ^ [1] Retrieved January 12 2021
  15. ^ https://genius.com/David-and-the-giants-get-together-lyrics. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  16. ^ Big Mountain, "Get Together" chart positions Retrieved May 18, 2015
  17. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 10, 1996
  18. ^ "Get Together" Billboard Dance/Club Play, August 10, 2018 Retrieved May 18, 2015
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  20. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 7, 1967". Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  21. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles – October 21, 1967" (PDF).
  22. ^ Go-Set National Top 40, 6 December 1969
  23. ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. September 20, 1969. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  24. ^ "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  25. ^ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 13, 1969
  26. ^ The Dave Clark Five, "Everybody Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  27. ^ "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  28. ^ Musicoutfitters.com
  29. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  30. ^ Truitt, Eliza (September 17, 2001). "It's the End of the World as Clear Channel Knows It". Slate.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007. Slate published what it claimed was a copy of the list.

External links[]

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