Today in Music (1965): The Impressions “People Get Ready” charted

People Get Ready The Impressions

Writer(s): Curtis Mayfield (see lyrics here) First Charted: February 13, 1965 Peak: 14 BB, 15 CB, 20 GR, 17 HR, 3 RB, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.9 video, 53.18 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Curtis Mayfield and Jerry Butler met in a Chicago church choir as teens. They formed the Impressions in 1958 when they joined up with a vocal trio from Tennessee. The lineup had changed by 1962 with Butler moving on and Mayfield writing the songs. In 1963, they teamed with producer Johnny Pate whose “polished arrangements propelled the Impressions to popular success.” NRR The group’s most celebrated song, “People Get Ready,” may just sound like a “simple song of Christian faith” NRR and Mayfield acknowledged that the influence for this “soul song with a big dose of gospel” TC “came directly from the pulpit.” TC However, “the racial subtext was obvious to African Americans.” NRR Mayfield composed the song in 1964, on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr.’s march on Chicago. SS It became “the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.” NRR It is “about the sin of slavery never atoned for, the systemic racism that followed, and the promise of deliverance.” NRR The song uses trains as a metaphor for freedom, which harkens back to the 1830s and the Underground Railroad, which wasn’t an actual train but a network that helped slaves escape to freedom. Mayfield sings “in a silken falsetto over pizzicato strings and Sam Gooden responds, ‘There’s a train a-coming.’ Mayfield’s guitar marks time with staccato upstrokes over low French horns while bell-like glockenspiel tones rise to the heavens. ‘You don’t need no baggage,’ sings Mayfield; Gooden and Cash respond, ‘You just get on board.’ This is a train song; this is a gospel song delivering good news.” NRR While the song wasn’t a big hit initially, “it has become one of the longest-lasting soul singles of all time.” TC That has been helped by Aretha Franklin’s cover version on Lady Soul and a rock version by Vanilla Fudge. There was also “Bob Marley & the Wailers’ joyful mash-up, ‘One Love/People Get Ready.’” NRR The song also marked an important reunion for Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck in 1985. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Impressions TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 764. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 122. NRR National Recording Registry essay by Brad Erickson SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 317-8. First posted 1/31/2024.