Let's Get Together (Chet Powers song)

"Let's Get Together", also known as "Get Together" and "Everybody Get Together", is a song written in the mid-1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (stage name Dino Valenti), from psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service.[1] A hit version by the Youngbloods, included on their 1967 debut album The Youngbloods, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.[2][1][3]

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.[1]

Original recording history

The song was originally written and recorded as "Let's Get Together" by Chet Powers under the stage name Dino Valenti as early as 1963, but was not officially released until 1996 on the compilation album Someone to Love: The Birth of the San Francisco Sound on UK label Big Beat Records.[4] The very first release of the song was an instrumental by the Folkswingers on their 1963 album 12 String Guitar! Vol. 2. A live vocal performance by the Kingston Trio in March 1964 was released on June 1, 1964 on their album Back in Town.[5] 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.

The Youngbloods version
"Get Together"
Single by the Youngbloods
from the album The Youngbloods
B-side"All My Dreams Blue"
ReleasedJuly 1967
Recorded1966
Genre
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

The most notable recording of "Let's Get Together" came in 1967, when the Youngbloods released their version under the title "Get Together", from their eponymous debut album. Initially released as a single in July 1967, it became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at No. 62 and reaching No. 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.[1] It was subsequently re-released in 1969, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was their only top 40 hit on that chart.[9]

The Dave Clark Five version

In March 1970, British rock band the Dave Clark Five reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart with their version, titled "Everybody Get Together",[10] which is from their fifth UK studio album, If Somebody Loves You.

Other versions
  • A rendition 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 No. 31[11] and No. 5 in Canada.[12] It would be their last hit record. This was included on their second album, Make Someone Happy.
  • Also in August of 1965, the Mitchell Trio released their version of "Get Together" on the album That's the Way It's Gonna Be (Mercury, SG61049). The album was also the debut of new member John Denver, who replaced the departing Chad Mitchell.
  • Jefferson Airplane included a version on their 1966 debut album Jefferson Airplane Takes Off.
  • In 1968, the Sunshine Company recorded the song, under the title "Let's Get Together".
  • Also in 1968, the Canadian group 3's a Crowd released their version as a single, titled "Let's Get Together". It peaked at No. 70 on Canada's national singles chart.[13]
  • In 1969, Richie Havens played "Get Together" live at the Woodstock festival.[14]
  • In 1970, Gwen and Jerry Collins released the song as a single that reached No. 34 on the US Country chart.[15]
  • In 1971, Buzzy Linhart included "Let's Get Together" on his album, The Time to Live Is Now.
  • In 1974, Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah performed it on PBS station WTTW Channel 11, for the series Made in Chicago.[16]
  • In 1995, Big Mountain released their version as a single that reached No. 28 on the US Adult Contemporary chart and No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17] It also reached No. 32 on Cash Box.[18]
  • In 1991, Nirvana included the chorus lyrics - "Come on people now, smile on your brother. Everybody get together, try to love one another right now" - in the introduction to "Territorial Pissings" on the album Nevermind. "Sung" in a garbled manner by Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain explained this inclusion to Brazilian publication O Globo: "The song speaks of people who join together to be cool and try something new, the ideal contrast to the macho men I'm portraying in 'Territorial Pissings.' We didn't mean to be offensive to the guy who wrote it. The idea of being positive and causing change in society and the world was appropriated by media, who turned it into something ridiculous, a caricature."[19]
  • In 2021, Belinda Carlisle released a version of the song to be included on a Record Store Day-exclusive EP titled Nobody Owns Me.[20]

Chart history

Weekly charts
The Youngbloods
Chart (1967) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[21] 62
US Cash Box Top 100[22] 80
Canada RPM Top Singles[23] 40

Legacy

See also

References
  1. 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.
  2. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 270. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  3. "Get Together by The Youngbloods | Billboard The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  4. https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/4730
  5. The Kingston Trio, Back in Town Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  6. Barone, Richard (2022). Music + Revolution: Greenwich Village in the 1960s. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-4930-6302-4 – via Google Books. 'Get Together' ... [is] one of the purest examples of folk-rock.
  7. Fontenot, Robert (October 29, 2015). "What is Folk-Rock Music?". ThoughtCo. About.com. Retrieved March 12, 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 Dave Clark Five, "Everybody Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  11. We Five charting singles Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  12. "RPM Top 40 Singles - December 20, 1965" (PDF).
  13. "RPM Top 100 Singles – May 11, 1968" (PDF).
  14. "Line Up | Woodstock". Woodstock.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  15. Gwen & Jerry Collins, "Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  16. WTTW Channel 11 - Made in Chicago - "Aliotta-Haynes-Jeremiah / Bill Quateman" (Part 1, 1974). YouTube video nMDAjaWm-gE begins at 6:13, runs to end of segment {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  17. Big Mountain, "Get Together" chart positions Retrieved May 18, 2015
  18. Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Sheridan Books, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-209-0.
  19. Far Out Magazine, "The Nirvana song that references a hippie classic"
  20. Smith, Christopher (October 22, 2021). "FRESH: 'Get Together' – Belinda Carlisle". Talk About Pop Music. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  21. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  22. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, October 7, 1967". Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  23. "RPM Top 100 Singles – October 21, 1967" (PDF).
  24. "Go-Set National Top 40, 6 December 1969". Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  25. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. September 20, 1969. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  26. "SA Charts 1965 – March 1989". Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  27. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, September 13, 1969
  28. "RPM Top Singles of 1969". Library and Archives Canada. RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  29. Musicoutfitters.com
  30. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 27, 1969". Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  31. 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.
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