"We're a Winner" is a 1967

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

recorded by

The Impressions The Impressions were an American music group originally formed in 1958. Their repertoire includes gospel, R&B, doo-wop, and soul. The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthu ...

for the

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! Records, Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquire ...

label. Written and produced by Impressions lead singer

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

, the song is notable as one of the most prominent popular recordings dealing with the subject of

black pride Black pride is a movement which encourages black people to celebrate their respective cultures and embrace their African heritage. In the United States, it initially developed for African-American culture and was a direct response to white ...

. The phrase "We're a Winner" was later used as the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

of Mayfield's

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

Curtom Records Curtom Records was a record label founded by Curtis Mayfield and Eddie Thomas in March 1968 as an independently distributed music label. It was located at 8541 South Stony Island Boulevard. The name of the label came from a hybrid of the names "C ...

Personnel

*Lead vocals and guitar by

*Background vocals by

Sam Gooden Samuel Gooden (September 2, 1934 – August 4, 2022) was an American soul music, 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 (American band), ...

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 Roll ...

*Guitar by

Phil Upchurch Phillip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American soul music, R&B, jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfiel ...

*Bass guitar by Lenny Brown *Drums by Billy Griffin *Produced, arranged, and conducted by Johnny Pate

Chart performance

The single peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and was the number-one single on the

Billboard R&B Chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

during the week of March 1, 1968.

References

External links

*Hogan, Ed. " We're a Winner. ''Allmusic.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:We're A Winner 1967 singles ABC Records singles Protest songs The Impressions songs Songs written by Curtis Mayfield 1967 songs Civil rights movement in popular culture

Personnel

Chart performance

See also

References

External links