People Get Ready

Composition

The gospel-influenced track was written and composed by Curtis Mayfield, who was displaying a growing sense of social and political awareness in his writing. Mayfield said,That was taken from my church or from the upbringing of messages from the church. Like there's no hiding place and get on board, and images of that sort. I must have been in a very deep mood of that type of religious inspiration when I wrote that song.The song is the first Impressions hit to feature Mayfield's guitar in the break. "People Get Ready" is in a long tradition of Black American freedom songs that use train imagery, such as "Wade in the Water", "The Gospel Train", and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". The idea comes from the spiritualist idea that once one dies the soul goes in a journey to the afterlife.

Reception and legacy

The single reached number 3 on the Billboard R&B Chart and number 14 on the Billboard Pop Chart.

Rolling Stone magazine named "People Get Ready" the 24th greatest song of all time and also placed it at number 20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. The song was included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998, and selected as one of the ten best songs of all time by a panel of 20 songwriters, including Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Hal David, for Britain's Mojo music magazine in 2000.

Cover versions

The song became a classic that has influenced a wide range of artists from country singers through British, American and Australian pop and rock artists to reggae star Bob Marley who recorded an interpretation of "People Get Ready" as "One Love/People Get Ready" in 1965 and again in 1977. Others who have recorded the song include the Blind Boys of Alabama, Paul Jackson Jr., Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Eva Cassidy, Everly Brothers, the Chambers Brothers, The Persuasions and the Staple Singers.

• The Walker Brothers included a version of the song sung by Scott Walker on their 1966 album Portrait.
• Bob Dylan recorded it twice; first in 1967 during the sessions that later became The Basement Tapes, and again in 1989 for the soundtrack to Flashback. A live version by Dylan was included in his 1978 film Renaldo and Clara and on his 14-CD box set, Bob Dylan – The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings.
• A cover by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart appeared on Beck's 1985 album Flash. The song peaked in the US at number 5 on Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs, number 48 on the Hot 100 and number 23 in Australia.
• Human Nature released the song as the fifth single from their Telling Everybody album in 1997. It reached number 35 on the Australian chart.
• The band The Housemartins recorded an a capella version of the song in 1986.

References

References

1. (2003). "Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios". Chronicle Books.
2. Unterberger, Richie. "Various Artists - ''Chartbusters USA, Vol. 3'' (2003) Review".
3. (September 15, 2021). "The Impressions, 'People Get Ready'".
4. "New Entries to National Recording Registry | News Releases - Library of Congress".
5. [https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/registry-by-induction-years/2015/ Erickson, Brad (2018) People Get Ready. Library of Congress. National Recording Registry]
6. Robert Pruter, Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions, The Anthology, 1961–1977, liner notes
7. Gregg, Jonathan. (July 12, 2000). "So, What Are Your Ten Best Songs of All Time?". [[Time (magazine).
8. "Song Inspired by March on Washington Carries Enduring Message". npr.org.
9. (2013). "Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music". Routledge.
10. Marquse, Mike. (January 4, 2011). "Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s; Chimes of Freedom". Seven Stories Press.
11. (January 25, 1978). "Renaldo and Clara".
12. (June 1, 2019). "The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings". bobdylan.com.
13. "Jeff Beck".
14. "Jeff Beck".
15. "Book Human Nature - National Feature Acts - National Names". BBC Entertainment.
16. Hung, Steffen. "Human Nature - People Get Ready". australian-charts.com.
17. {url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/37130/all}