Let's Get Together (Chet Powers song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 217.214.145.164 (talk) at 05:44, 16 June 2017. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Let's Get Together"
Song
B-side"All My Dreams Blue" (original)
"Beautiful" (re-issue)

"Get Together", also known as "Let's Get Together", is a song written in the mid-1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers, also known as Dino Valenti.

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, which is repeated several times in succession to bring the song to its conclusion.

Recording history

The song was originally recorded as "Let's Get Together" by the Kingston Trio and released on June 1, 1964, on their album Back in Town.[2] 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.

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 #31.[3] It would be their last hit record.

"Let's Get Together" was the third song on side 2 of the 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,[4] "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 #97.

In 1967, the Youngbloods released their version of the song under the title "Get Together". It became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at #62 and reaching #37 on the US adult contemporary chart.[5] 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. The Youngbloods' version, the most-remembered today, was re-released in 1969, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6]

Another version was released in 1967 by the Chicago psychedelic group H. P. Lovecraft on their debut album.

In 1968, the Sunshine Company released a version of the song titled "Let's Get Together" as a single that reached #112 on the Billboard chart.[7]

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 #70 on Canada's national singles chart.

In 1970, Gwen & Jerry Collins released a version of the song as a single that reached #34 on the US country chart.[8]

In March 1970, the Dave Clark Five reached #8 on the UK Singles Chart with their version retitled "Everybody Get Together".[9]

In 1995, Big Mountain released a version of the song titled as a single that reached #28 on the US adult contemporary chart and #44 on the Billboard Hot 100.[10]

And on Inauguraton Day 2017, the group Bahari [11] released their version of the song.

Controversy

Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the media conglomerate company Clear Channel Communications included the Youngbloods' version of the song on a list of "lyrically questionable" songs that was sent to its 1,200 radio stations in the United States.

In popular culture

References

  1. ^ Fontenot, Robert (October 29, 2015). "What is Folk-Rock Music?". ThoughtCo. About.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. ^ The Kingston Trio, Back in Town Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  3. ^ We Five charting singles Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  4. ^ Tim, Jurgens. "Crawdaddy archives". Crawdaddy Magazine 1966-1968. Vista Services. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
  5. ^ The Youngbloods, "Get Together" 1967 chart positions Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  6. ^ The Youngbloods, "Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  7. ^ The Sunshine Company, "Let's Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  8. ^ Gwen & Jerry Collins, "Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  9. ^ The Dave Clark Five, "Everybody Get Together" chart position Retrieved May 18, 2015
  10. ^ Big Mountain, "Get Together" chart positions Retrieved May 18, 2015
  11. ^ [1] Retrieved January 22, 2017
  12. ^ http://www.heavyharmonies.com/cgi-bin/glamcd.cgi?BandNum=677&CDName=Giant+Hits. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |website= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Get_Together_(Chet_Powers_song)&oldid=785920456"