The Impressions (American band)
Encyclopedia
The Impressions are an American
music
group from Chicago
, originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes doo-wop
, gospel
, soul
, and R&B
.
The group was founded as The Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee
natives Sam Gooden
, Richard Brooks
, and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago
and added Jerry Butler
and Curtis Mayfield
to their line-up to become
Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and new Impression Fred Cash
collectively became a top-selling soul act. Mayfield left the group for a solo career in 1970; Leroy Hutson
, Ralph Johnson,
Reggie Torian, Sammy Fender, and Nate Evans were among the replacements who joined Gooden and Cash. Inductees into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
, The Impressions are best known for their 1960s string of hits, many of which were heavily influenced by gospel music
and served as inspirational anthems for the Civil Rights Movement
.They are also 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Inductees for their hit,
People Get Ready
, and are winners of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's
Pioneer Award (in 2000) .
church
choir
. After singing in a number of local gospel groups, the two of them joined a doo-wop
group called "The Roosters" in 1957, whose members included Chattanooga, Tennessee
natives Sam Gooden
, Richard Brooks
, and his brother Arthur Brooks. By 1958, The Roosters had a new manager in Eddie Thomas, a record deal with Vee-Jay Records, and a new name: "Jerry Butler & the Impressions".
The group's first hit single was 1958's "For Your Precious Love", which hit #11 on the US pop charts and #3 on the R&B charts. However, soon after the release of the R&B Top 30 hit "Come Back My Love", Butler left the group to go on to a successful solo career. After briefly touring with the now-solo Butler as his guitarist
, Curtis Mayfield became the group's new lead singer and songwriter
, and Fred Cash
, a returning original Roosters member, was appointed as the new fifth member.
The Impressions returned to Chicago as a trio, and soon aligned themselves with producer
Johnny Pate
, who helped to update their sound and create a more lush soul
sound for the group. The result was "It's All Right
", a 1963 million-selling gold
single that topped the R&B charts and made it to #4 on the pop charts, and became one of the group's signature songs. "It's All Right" and "Gypsy Woman" were the anchors of The Impressions' first LP, 1963's The Impressions.
1964 brought the first of Mayfield's Black pride anthem compositions, "Keep on Pushing", which became a Top 10 smash on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts, peaking at #10 Pop.It was the title cut from the album of the same name, Keep On Pushing
, which also reached the Top 10 on both charts. Future Mayfield compositions would feature an increasingly social and political awareness, including the following year's major hit and the group's best-known song, the gospel-influenced "People Get Ready
", which hit #3 on the R&B charts and #14 on the pop charts.
, The Miracles
, and The Four Tops. After 1965's "Woman's Got Soul", and the #7 pop hit "Amen", The Impressions failed to reach the R&B Top Ten for three more years, finally scoring in 1968 with the #9 "I Loved and Lost". "We're a Winner
", which hit #1 on the R&B charts that same year, represented a new level of social awareness in Mayfield's music. Mayfield created his own label, Curtom, and moved The Impressions to the label. Over the next two years, more Impressions message tracks, including the #1 R&B hit "Choice of Colors
" (1969) and the #3 "Check Out Your Mind" (1970), became big hits for the group.
It should also be noted that 'The Impressions' were a huge influence on Bob Marley and The Wailers and other ska/rocksteady groups in Jamaica: The Wailers modelled their singing/harmony style on them and in part borrowed their look, too. There are many covers of Impressions songs by The Wailers, including 'Keep On Moving', 'Long Long Winter' and 'Just Another Dance'. Pat Kelly covered 'Soulful Love' and The Heptones covered 'I've Been Trying'. No doubt the social consciousness of Curtis Mayfield's lyrics appealed as well as the spectacular harmonies.
, and A Piece of the Action (soundtrack). He continued to write and produce for The Impressions, who remained on Curtom. Leroy Hutson
was the first new lead singer for the group following Mayfield's departure, but success eluded The Impressions, and Hutson left the group in 1973.
, and had their final major hit with "Loving Power". The same year, Ralph Johnson was replaced by Nate Evans, who remained in the group for three years, during which time The Impressions switched to 20th Century Records
. Singles and albums sales continued to slip, and Evans left in 1979, reducing the group to a trio. The album Fan the Flames, was released in 1981.
Reggie Torian left in 1983. Ralph Johnson rejoined that year, as well as new member Vandy Hampton. This lineup recorded with Eric Clapton
on his Reptile
album. There is also a new album that released called A Tribute to the Memory of Curtis Mayfield. On August 14, 1990, Mayfield was severely injured when lighting equipment fell on him during an on-stage performance. Paralyzed from the neck down, he could no longer play and could barely sing. He eventually was able to make a brief, well-received, comeback in 1997 with his album New World Order. He died in Roswell, Georgia
, on December 26, 1999, at the age of 57.
The Impressions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1991, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
in 2003. The members who got to take part in this honor, as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, were Sam Gooden, Jerry Butler, Richard Brooks, Curtis Mayfield, Arthur Brooks, and Fred Cash.
Johnson left in 2001, was replaced by Willie Kitchens. This lineup was featured on the PBS specials R&B 40 and Soul and Inspiration. Hampton was released in 2003; he died in 2005. Reggie Torian later returned, replacing Kitchens. The Impressions recorded a tribute album to Curtis Mayfield in 2000, which was released by Edel America. In 2008, Universal Music & ip O Records released Movin' On Up - the first-ever video compilation of The Impressions, featuring brand new interviews with original Impressions members Sam Gooden and Fred Cash, along with taped interviews with the late Curtis Mayfield and video performances of the group's greatest hits and several of Mayfield's solo hits.The group's first million-selling hit song
"For Your Precious Love" , featuring original lead singer Jerry Butler
on lead, is ranked #327 on the Rolling Stone
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time),and their hit People Get Ready is ranked #24 on that same list.Also,The Impressions' album/CD The Anthology 1961–1977 is ranked at #179 on Rolling
Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Their 1965 hit song, "People Get Ready
", has also been chosen as one of the Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers, including Paul McCartney
, Brian Wilson
, Hal David
, and others, as reported to Britain's Mojo
music magazine.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
group from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
, gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
.
The group was founded as The Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
natives Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being an original member of the successful group The Impressions from its beginnings as The Roosters in the 1950s. Sam and the group are still recording and performing...
, Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks (singer)
Richard Brooks, born 1940 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is an original singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions. The Impressions were a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.-References:...
, and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and added Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
and Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Mayfield
Curtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
to their line-up to become
Jerry Butler & the Impressions. By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and new Impression Fred Cash
Fred Cash
Fred Cash is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being a member of the successful group The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. Cash was an original member of the Roosters , the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for...
collectively became a top-selling soul act. Mayfield left the group for a solo career in 1970; Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of the R&B band, which came to fame vocal group, The Impressions....
, Ralph Johnson,
Reggie Torian, Sammy Fender, and Nate Evans were among the replacements who joined Gooden and Cash. Inductees into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....
, The Impressions are best known for their 1960s string of hits, many of which were heavily influenced by gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and served as inspirational anthems for the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
.They are also 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame Inductees for their hit,
People Get Ready
People Get Ready
People Get Ready may refer to:* "People Get Ready" , a song by The Impressions, covered by many artists* People Get Ready * People Get Ready * People Get Ready...
, and are winners of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's
Rhythm and Blues Foundation
The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
Pioneer Award (in 2000) .
Early years
Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield met while singing in the same ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. After singing in a number of local gospel groups, the two of them joined a doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
group called "The Roosters" in 1957, whose members included Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
natives Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden
Sam Gooden is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being an original member of the successful group The Impressions from its beginnings as The Roosters in the 1950s. Sam and the group are still recording and performing...
, Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks
Richard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer.-Early life and career:...
, and his brother Arthur Brooks. By 1958, The Roosters had a new manager in Eddie Thomas, a record deal with Vee-Jay Records, and a new name: "Jerry Butler & the Impressions".
The group's first hit single was 1958's "For Your Precious Love", which hit #11 on the US pop charts and #3 on the R&B charts. However, soon after the release of the R&B Top 30 hit "Come Back My Love", Butler left the group to go on to a successful solo career. After briefly touring with the now-solo Butler as his guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Curtis Mayfield became the group's new lead singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and Fred Cash
Fred Cash
Fred Cash is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being a member of the successful group The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. Cash was an original member of the Roosters , the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for...
, a returning original Roosters member, was appointed as the new fifth member.
ABC-Paramount Records success
Mayfield wrote a number of Butler's early solo hits, and used the money to get The Impressions to move to Chicago, Illinois. There, they got a new deal with ABC-Paramount Records in 1961, and released their first post-Butler single. That single, "Gypsy Woman", was their biggest single to date, hitting #2 on the R&B charts and #20 on the pop chart. Successive singles failed to match "Gypsy Woman"'s success, and Richard and Arthur Brooks ended up leaving the group in 1962.The Impressions returned to Chicago as a trio, and soon aligned themselves with producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate
Johnny Pate is a jazz bassist who late became a music arranger/producer, and a leading figure in Chicago soul as well as pop/R&B music....
, who helped to update their sound and create a more lush soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
sound for the group. The result was "It's All Right
It's All Right
"It's All Right" is a 1963 single by The Impressions. The single was the most successful chart entry of the group's career. "It's All Right" was one of two top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and the first of six number ones on the Billboard R&B chart...
", a 1963 million-selling gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
single that topped the R&B charts and made it to #4 on the pop charts, and became one of the group's signature songs. "It's All Right" and "Gypsy Woman" were the anchors of The Impressions' first LP, 1963's The Impressions.
1964 brought the first of Mayfield's Black pride anthem compositions, "Keep on Pushing", which became a Top 10 smash on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts, peaking at #10 Pop.It was the title cut from the album of the same name, Keep On Pushing
Keep on Pushing
Keep on Pushing is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions. It was the biggest album of their career, reaching the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop Album chart...
, which also reached the Top 10 on both charts. Future Mayfield compositions would feature an increasingly social and political awareness, including the following year's major hit and the group's best-known song, the gospel-influenced "People Get Ready
People Get Ready (song)
"People Get Ready" was a 1965 single by The Impressions, and the title track from the album of the same name. The single is today the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the Billboard R&B Chart and number 14 on the Billboard Pop Chart...
", which hit #3 on the R&B charts and #14 on the pop charts.
Increasing social consciousness
In the mid-1960s, The Impressions, were compared with Motown acts such as The TemptationsThe Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, The Miracles
The Miracles
The Miracles are an American rhythm and blues group from Detroit, Michigan, notable as the first successful group act for Berry Gordy's Motown Record Corporation . Their single "Shop Around" was Motown's first million-selling hit record, and the group went on to become one of Motown's signature...
, and The Four Tops. After 1965's "Woman's Got Soul", and the #7 pop hit "Amen", The Impressions failed to reach the R&B Top Ten for three more years, finally scoring in 1968 with the #9 "I Loved and Lost". "We're a Winner
We're a Winner
"We're a Winner" is a 1967 single recorded by The Impressions for the ABC-Paramount label. Written and produced by Impressions lead singer Curtis Mayfield, the song is notable as one of the most prominent popular recordings dealing with the subject of black pride...
", which hit #1 on the R&B charts that same year, represented a new level of social awareness in Mayfield's music. Mayfield created his own label, Curtom, and moved The Impressions to the label. Over the next two years, more Impressions message tracks, including the #1 R&B hit "Choice of Colors
Choice of Colors
"Choice of Colors" is a 1969 pop/soul single by The Impressions. The song hit #1 on Billboards R&B chart for one week, and went to #21 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Chart positions:...
" (1969) and the #3 "Check Out Your Mind" (1970), became big hits for the group.
It should also be noted that 'The Impressions' were a huge influence on Bob Marley and The Wailers and other ska/rocksteady groups in Jamaica: The Wailers modelled their singing/harmony style on them and in part borrowed their look, too. There are many covers of Impressions songs by The Wailers, including 'Keep On Moving', 'Long Long Winter' and 'Just Another Dance'. Pat Kelly covered 'Soulful Love' and The Heptones covered 'I've Been Trying'. No doubt the social consciousness of Curtis Mayfield's lyrics appealed as well as the spectacular harmonies.
After Mayfield's departure
After the release of the Check Out Your Mind LP in 1970, Mayfield left the group and began a successful solo career, the highlight of which was writing and producing the Super Fly soundtrack. After his success with this soundtrack, he collaborated on the soundtracks of Claudine (soundtrack), Sparkle (album)Sparkle (Aretha Franklin album)
Sparkle is an Aretha Franklin album, written and produced by Curtis Mayfield. The disc is the soundtrack album for the 1976 Warner Bros. motion picture Sparkle, starring Irene Cara...
, and A Piece of the Action (soundtrack). He continued to write and produce for The Impressions, who remained on Curtom. Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson
Leroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of the R&B band, which came to fame vocal group, The Impressions....
was the first new lead singer for the group following Mayfield's departure, but success eluded The Impressions, and Hutson left the group in 1973.
Later years, awards, and accolades
New members Ralph Johnson and Reggie Torian replaced Hutson, and The Impressions had three R&B Top 5 singles in 1974–1975: the #1 "Finally Got Myself Together (I'm a Changed Man)" (which also reached the Pop top 20 ) , and the #3 singles "Same Thing it Took" and "Sooner or Later". In 1976, The Impressions left Curtom and Mayfield behind for Cotillion RecordsCotillion Records
Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
, and had their final major hit with "Loving Power". The same year, Ralph Johnson was replaced by Nate Evans, who remained in the group for three years, during which time The Impressions switched to 20th Century Records
20th Century Records
20th Century Fox Records, also known as 20th Fox Records and 20th Century Records, was a subsidiary of film studio 20th Century Fox.-History:It began in 1958 as 20th Fox Records. In 1963, 20th Fox Records became 20th Century-Fox Records...
. Singles and albums sales continued to slip, and Evans left in 1979, reducing the group to a trio. The album Fan the Flames, was released in 1981.
Reggie Torian left in 1983. Ralph Johnson rejoined that year, as well as new member Vandy Hampton. This lineup recorded with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
on his Reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
album. There is also a new album that released called A Tribute to the Memory of Curtis Mayfield. On August 14, 1990, Mayfield was severely injured when lighting equipment fell on him during an on-stage performance. Paralyzed from the neck down, he could no longer play and could barely sing. He eventually was able to make a brief, well-received, comeback in 1997 with his album New World Order. He died in Roswell, Georgia
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
, on December 26, 1999, at the age of 57.
The Impressions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 1991, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame
Vocal Group Hall of Fame
The Vocal Group Hall of Fame was organized to honor outstanding vocal groups throughout the world. It is headquartered in Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes a theater and a museum....
in 2003. The members who got to take part in this honor, as Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, were Sam Gooden, Jerry Butler, Richard Brooks, Curtis Mayfield, Arthur Brooks, and Fred Cash.
Johnson left in 2001, was replaced by Willie Kitchens. This lineup was featured on the PBS specials R&B 40 and Soul and Inspiration. Hampton was released in 2003; he died in 2005. Reggie Torian later returned, replacing Kitchens. The Impressions recorded a tribute album to Curtis Mayfield in 2000, which was released by Edel America. In 2008, Universal Music & ip O Records released Movin' On Up - the first-ever video compilation of The Impressions, featuring brand new interviews with original Impressions members Sam Gooden and Fred Cash, along with taped interviews with the late Curtis Mayfield and video performances of the group's greatest hits and several of Mayfield's solo hits.The group's first million-selling hit song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"For Your Precious Love" , featuring original lead singer Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler (singer)
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
on lead, is ranked #327 on the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time),and their hit People Get Ready is ranked #24 on that same list.Also,The Impressions' album/CD The Anthology 1961–1977 is ranked at #179 on Rolling
Stone Magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Their 1965 hit song, "People Get Ready
People Get Ready (song)
"People Get Ready" was a 1965 single by The Impressions, and the title track from the album of the same name. The single is today the group's best-known hit, reaching number-three on the Billboard R&B Chart and number 14 on the Billboard Pop Chart...
", has also been chosen as one of the Top 10 Best Songs Of All Time by a panel of 20 top industry songwriters and producers, including Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
, and others, as reported to Britain's Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
music magazine.
Personnel
For a detailed listing of the various versions of the group, see Impressions chronologyImpressions chronology
This is a listing of all of the various versions of the soul music group The Impressions.-1958-1960:* Jerry Butler * Curtis Mayfield* Arthur Brooks * Richard Brooks * Sam Gooden-1960-1962:* Curtis Mayfield* Arthur Brooks...
.
- Jerry ButlerJerry Butler (singer)Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
(1958–1960) - Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
(1958–1970) - Sam GoodenSam GoodenSam Gooden is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being an original member of the successful group The Impressions from its beginnings as The Roosters in the 1950s. Sam and the group are still recording and performing...
(1958–present) - Arthur Brooks (1958–1962)
- Richard BrooksRichard BrooksRichard Brooks was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and occasional film producer.-Early life and career:...
(1958–1962) - Fred CashFred CashFred Cash is an African-American soul singer. He is best known for being a member of the successful group The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. Cash was an original member of the Roosters , the group that later evolved into The Impressions. After leaving the group for...
(1960–present) - Leroy HutsonLeroy HutsonLeroy Hutson is an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and instrumentalist, best known as former lead singer of the R&B band, which came to fame vocal group, The Impressions....
(1970–1973) - Ralph Johnson (1973–1976;1983–2000)
- Vandy Hampton (1983–2003)
- Nate Evans (1976–1979)
- Reggie Torian (1973–83;200?–present)
- Gary Underwood (1992–2001)
Studio albums
- 1963: The ImpressionsThe Impressions (album)The Impressions is the debut album by the American soul music group of the same name. It produced no less than 6 chart hit singles,including their biggest-ever hit, the Billboard Top 10 Pop smash "It's All Right", and the Top 20 Hit, "Gypsy Woman"...
- 1964: The Never Ending ImpressionsThe Never Ending ImpressionsThe Never Ending Impressions is an album by the American soul music group The Impressions. It is the first album on which long-time producer for The Impressions Johnny Pate would work with Curtis Mayfield.-Track listing:# "Sister Love"...
- 1964: Keep on PushingKeep on PushingKeep on Pushing is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions. It was the biggest album of their career, reaching the Top 10 on the Billboard Pop Album chart...
- 1965: People Get ReadyPeople Get Ready (Impressions album)People Get Ready is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions.-Track listing:# "Woman's Got Soul"# "Emotions " # "Sometimes I Wonder"# "We're in Love"# "Just Another Dance"# "Can't Work No Longer"...
- 1965: One by OneOne by One (Impressions album)One by One is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions. It consists mostly of cover songs with only a few original Impressions songs.-Track listing:# "Twilight Time" – 2:17...
- 1966: Ridin' HighRidin' High (Impressions album)Ridin' High is an album by the American soul music group The Impressions.-Track listing:# "That's What Mama Say"# "Man's Temptation"# "Too Slow" # "I Need a Love"# "Right on Time"# "I Need to Belong to Someone"...
- 1967: The Fabulous ImpressionsThe Fabulous ImpressionsThe Fabulous Impressions is an album by the American soul music group The Impressions. It includes a cover of the Gene McDaniels song "One Hundred Pounds of Clay".-Track listing:# "You Always Hurt Me" – 2:16...
- 1968: We're a WinnerWe're a Winner (album)We're a Winner is an album by the American soul music group The Impressions. The album was their last one released before they changed to the Curtom Records label....
- 1968: This Is My CountryThis Is My Country (album)This Is My Country is an album by the soul group The Impressions. The album was their first album released on Impressions member Curtis Mayfield's label Curtom Records originally in 1968....
- 1969: The Versatile ImpressionsThe Versatile ImpressionsThe Versatile Impressions is an album by the American soul music group The Impressions.The album was released after The Impressions left ABC Records, and only featured one original song....
- 1969: The Young Mods' Forgotten StoryThe Young Mods' Forgotten StoryThe Young Mods' Forgotten Story is an album and song by the American soul music group The Impressions. The album was their second album released on Impressions member Curtis Mayfield's label Curtom Records originally in 1969....
- 1970: Check Out Your Mind!
- 1972: Times Have Changed
- 1973: Preacher Man
- 1974: Finally Got Myself Together
- 1975: First Impressions
- 1975: Three the Hard Way
- 1976: Loving Power
- 1979: Come to My Party
- 1981: Fan the Fire
Further reading
- The Impressions in-depth interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2011
- Their album The Complete A &B Sides 1961 to 1968 won Rhapsody's Album of the Day on June 27, 2010
External links
- Official website
- 'The Impressions' Vocal Group hall of Fame page
- 'Richard Brooks'
- 'Arthur Brooks
- The Impressions at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...