The Youngbloods (album)
Encyclopedia
The Youngbloods is an album by the American
folk rock
band The Youngbloods
, released in 1967. It was also reissued in 1971 under the title Get Together after the popular single from the album. The album peaked at number 131 on the Billboard 200
although two years later the single "Get Together" reached number five and sold more than a million copies.
(aka Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service
) and had already appeared in 1966 as a track on the first album by The Jefferson Airplane. Upon first release as a single by The Youngbloods in 1967, it only went to #62 in the pop charts. Two years later, after being featured in radio and television commercials, the track was re-released and climbed to number 5 in charts, selling more than a million records.
The first song on the album, Jerry Corbitt's "Grizzly Bear" (spelled "Grizzely Bear" on the album cover), was also released as a single reaching #52 in the pop charts in December 1966. It featured the "jug band
" style popularized by The Lovin' Spoonful
, Jim Kweskin Jug Band
and other similar groups of the middle 1960s. The title refers to a popular dance
style of the 1910s. Corbitt also wrote the second song on the LP
, the ballad "All Over the World (La La)". Side one also featured Blind Willie McTell
's "Statesboro Blues" and another ballad, "One Note Man" written by fellow Cambridge folk musician Paul Arnoldi (spelled "Arnaldi" on the record label).
Side Two featured two more songs written by fellow folk singer-songwriter
s, Fred Neil
's "The Other Side of This Life" and "Four In the Morning" by George "Robin" Remailly (who became a member of the Holy Modal Rounders
in the 1970s).
Jesse Colin Young
wrote two ballads on side two, "Tears Are Falling" and "Foolin' Around (The Waltz)" which alternates between 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures. Classical cello was added to "Foolin' Around" by George Ricci. Side two ends with two blues standards, Jimmy Reed
's "Ain't That Lovin' You" and Mississippi John Hurt
's "C.C. Rider". The last song featured a hard-rocking guitar jam that was common in the late 1960s, especially for San Francisco, which would soon become the Younglbloods' destination both geographically and musically.
called the album an "engaging debut" and wrote; "...they would have been better off leaving the blues alone, but the rest of the material is good..."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
band The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods
The Youngbloods was an American folk rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young , Jerry Corbitt , Lowell Levinger, nicknamed "Banana," , and Joe Bauer . Despite receiving critical acclaim, they never achieved widespread popularity. Their only U.S. Top 40 entry was "Get Together".-Background and...
, released in 1967. It was also reissued in 1971 under the title Get Together after the popular single from the album. The album peaked at number 131 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
although two years later the single "Get Together" reached number five and sold more than a million copies.
History
"Get Together" was written by Chet PowersChet Powers
Chester William Powers, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, and a member of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name "Dino Valenti" and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow...
(aka Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco.-Introduction:Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked...
) and had already appeared in 1966 as a track on the first album by The Jefferson Airplane. Upon first release as a single by The Youngbloods in 1967, it only went to #62 in the pop charts. Two years later, after being featured in radio and television commercials, the track was re-released and climbed to number 5 in charts, selling more than a million records.
The first song on the album, Jerry Corbitt's "Grizzly Bear" (spelled "Grizzely Bear" on the album cover), was also released as a single reaching #52 in the pop charts in December 1966. It featured the "jug band
Jug band
A Jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of traditional and home-made instruments. These home-made instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making of sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, stovepipe and comb & tissue paper...
" style popularized by The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American pop rock band of the 1960s, named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. When asked about his band, leader John Sebastian said it sounded like a combination of "Mississippi John Hurt and Chuck Berry," prompting his friend, Fritz Richmond, to suggest the name...
, Jim Kweskin Jug Band
Jim Kweskin
Jim Kweskin is the founder of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, with Fritz Richmond, Mel Lyman, and Geoff and Maria Muldaur...
and other similar groups of the middle 1960s. The title refers to a popular dance
Grizzly Bear (dance)
The Grizzly Bear is an early 20th century dance style. It started in San Francisco, along with the Bunny Hug and Texas Tommy and was also done on the Staten Island ferry boats in the 1900's. It has been said that dancers John Jarrott and Louise Gruenning introduced this dance as well as the Turkey...
style of the 1910s. Corbitt also wrote the second song on the LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
, the ballad "All Over the World (La La)". Side one also featured Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
's "Statesboro Blues" and another ballad, "One Note Man" written by fellow Cambridge folk musician Paul Arnoldi (spelled "Arnaldi" on the record label).
Side Two featured two more songs written by fellow folk singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
s, Fred Neil
Fred Neil
Fred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
's "The Other Side of This Life" and "Four In the Morning" by George "Robin" Remailly (who became a member of the Holy Modal Rounders
Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders were an American folk music duo from the Lower East Side of New York City which started in the early 1960s, consisting of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber. Their unique blend of folk music revival and psychedelia gave them a cult-like following from the late 1960s into the 1970s...
in the 1970s).
Jesse Colin Young
Jesse Colin Young
Jesse Colin Young is an American singer / songwriter / folksinger and a founding member of the group The Youngbloods.-Early life:...
wrote two ballads on side two, "Tears Are Falling" and "Foolin' Around (The Waltz)" which alternates between 4/4 and 3/4 time signatures. Classical cello was added to "Foolin' Around" by George Ricci. Side two ends with two blues standards, Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
's "Ain't That Lovin' You" and Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
's "C.C. Rider". The last song featured a hard-rocking guitar jam that was common in the late 1960s, especially for San Francisco, which would soon become the Younglbloods' destination both geographically and musically.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Richie UnterbergerRichie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger is a US author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.-Life and writing:Having worked as a DJ at WXPN in Philadelphia, he started reviewing records for Op magazine in 1983...
called the album an "engaging debut" and wrote; "...they would have been better off leaving the blues alone, but the rest of the material is good..."
Side one
- "Grizzly Bear" (Jerry Corbitt) – 2:20
- "All Over the World (La La)" (Corbitt) – 3:!3
- "Statesboro Blues" (Blind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
) – 2:18 - "Get Together" (Chet PowersChet PowersChester William Powers, Jr. was an American singer-songwriter, and a member of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. He was also known by the stage name "Dino Valenti" and, as a songwriter, as Jesse Oris Farrow...
) – 4:39 - "One Note Man" (Paul Arnoldi) – 2:24
Side two
- "The Other Side of This Life" (Fred NeilFred NeilFred Neil was an American folk singer-songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s. He did not achieve commercial success as a performer, and is mainly known through other people's recordings of his material – particularly "Everybody's Talkin'", which became a hit for Harry Nilsson after being...
) – 2:28 - "Tears Are Falling" (Jesse Colin Young) – 2:25
- "Four In the Morning" (George Remailly) – 2:51
- "Foolin' Around (The Waltz)" (Young) – 2:50
- "Ain't That Lovin' You" (Jimmy ReedJimmy ReedMathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
) – 2:39 - "C.C. Rider" (Mississippi John HurtMississippi John HurtJohn Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
) – 2:37
Personnel
- Jesse Colin YoungJesse Colin YoungJesse Colin Young is an American singer / songwriter / folksinger and a founding member of the group The Youngbloods.-Early life:...
– bass, vocals - Jerry Corbitt – guitar, vocals
- Lowell "Banana" Levinger – guitar, electric piano
- Joe Bauer – drums
Additional Personnel
- Felix PappalardiFelix PappalardiFelix A. Pappalardi Jr. was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass guitarist.- Early life :Pappalardi was born in the Bronx, New York...
– producer - Bob Cullen – recording supervision
- Mike Moran – engineer
- Mickey Crofford – engineer
- Ray Hall – engineer
- George Ricci – cello on "Foolin' Around"