''The Youngbloods'' is the debut self-titled studio album by the American 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.

History

" Get Together" was written by

Chet Powers Chester William Powers, Jr. (October 7, 1937 – November 16, 1994) was an American singer-songwriter, and under the stage names Dino Valenti or Dino Valente, one of the lead singers of the rock group Quicksilver Messenger Service. As a songwri ...

(aka Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service) and had already appeared in 1963 on the album ''12 String Guitar! Vol. 2 '' by The Folkswingers and in 1966 as a track on the first album by

The Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achi ...

. Upon first release as a single by The Youngbloods in 1967, it only went to No. 62 in the pop charts.

Billboard.com ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

Accessed May 2011 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, "Grizzly Bear" (spelled "Grizzely Bear" on the album cover), was also released as a single reaching No. 52 on the pop charts in December 1966.

Jerry Corbitt Jerry Corbitt (born Jerry Byron Corbitt; January 7, 1943 – March 8, 2014) was an American guitarist, harmonica player, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a founding member and guitarist of the rock band the Youngbloo ...

took credit for writing this song, but it had appeared on a 1928 recording by singer-songwriter Jim Jackson. The song featured the "

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, ...

" 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 Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier; May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) was a Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont bl ...

'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-songwriters, 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 "See See Rider", also known as "C.C. Rider", "See See Rider Blues" or "Easy Rider", is a popular American 12-bar blues song that became a standard in several genres. Ma Rainey, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 192 ...

". 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 Youngbloods' destination both geographically and musically.

Legacy

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

, in a retrospective review for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, feels "they would have been better off leaving the blues alone"; though he regards the rest of the material as "good" and calls the album an "engaging debut".

Track listing

Side one

# "Grizzly Bear" (

) – 2:20 # "All Over the World (La-La)" (Corbitt) – 3:13 # " Statesboro Blues" (

) – 2:18 # " Get Together" (

) – 4:39 # "One Note Man" (Paul Arnoldi) – 2:24

Side two

# "The Other Side of This Life" ( Fred Neil) – 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 Reed) – 2:39 # "

" ( Mississippi John Hurt) – 2:37

Personnel

;The Youngbloods * Jesse Colin Young – bass, lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals *Lowell "Banana" Levinger – lead guitar,

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

*Joe Bauer – drums, percussion with: *George Ricci – cello on "Foolin' Around" ;Technical * Felix Pappalardi – producer *Bob Cullen – recording supervision *Mike Moran – engineer *Mickey Crofford – engineer *Ray Hall – engineer

Charts

;Singles

References

External links

VH1 Biography: The YoungbloodsJesse Colin Young official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngbloods Lp 1967 debut albums The Youngbloods albums Albums produced by Felix Pappalardi RCA Records albums