''The Impressions'' is the debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

group of the same name. It produced six chart hit singles, including their biggest hit, the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' top ten pop smash " It's All Right", and the top 20 hit, " Gypsy Woman". After the departure of original Impressions lead singer

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...

to a successful solo career, the other original members, brothers

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

and

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Academy Awards, Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a ...

also left. The remaining original members,

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

Sam Gooden Samuel Gooden (September 2, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American soul singer. He was best known for being an original member of the successful 1991 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted R&B group The Impressions, from its beginnings as The ...

and

Fred Cash Fred Cash (born October 8, 1940) is an American soul singer. He was a member of The Impressions, a group in which he replaced Jerry Butler in 1960. As one of the group's longest-serving members, he is also a 1991 inductee into the Rock and Rol ...

, chose not to replace them. Instead, they scaled down to a trio, and went on to become one of America's top R&B vocal groups.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Curtis Mayfield; except where indicated #" It's All Right" - 2:49 #" Gypsy Woman" - 2:20 #"Grow Closer Together" - 2:12 #"Little Young Lover" - 2:14 #"You've Come Home" - 2:45 #"Never Let Me Go" ( Joseph Scott) - 2:30 #"Minstrel and Queen (Queen Majesty)" - 2:22 #"I Need Your Love" (

) - 2:25 #"I'm the One Who Loves You" - 2:28 #"Sad, Sad Girl and Boy" - 2:40 #"As Long as You Love Me" - 2:27 #"Twist and Limbo" - 2:29 The original pressing of the album did not include "It's Alright" and instead included "Can't You See" as track 6. This was also included as the B-Side of "Grow Closer Together", and received a CD release first on the 1994 Japanese reissue of the album, and internationally on the ABC Rarities compilation in 1999.

Personnel

;The Impressions *

- tenor vocals, guitar *

- tenor vocals *

- baritone and bass vocals * Arthur Brooks - tenor vocals *

- tenor vocals

Charts

USA - Album USA - Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Impressions, The 1963 debut albums The Impressions albums Albums produced by Curtis Mayfield ABC Records albums