| "People Get Ready" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by the Impressions | ||||
| from the album People Get Ready | ||||
| B-side | "I've Been Trying" | |||
| Released | 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1964 | |||
| Studio | Universal Recording (Chicago)[1] | |||
| Genre | Chicago soul[2] | |||
| Length | 2:38 | |||
| Label | ABC-Paramount 10622 | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Curtis Mayfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny Pate | |||
| The Impressions singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| "People Get Ready" on YouTube | ||||
"People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by the Impressions, and the title track from the People Get Ready album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number three on the Billboard R&B chart and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The gospel-influenced track was a Curtis Mayfield composition that displayed the growing sense of social and political awareness in his writing.
In 2021, Rolling Stone named "People Get Ready" the 122nd greatest song of all time.[3] The song was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "People Get Ready" was named as one of the Top 10 Best Songs of All Time by Mojo music magazine, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2015, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry due to its "cultural, historic, or artistic significance".[4] Martin Luther King Jr. named the song the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement and often used the song to get people marching or to calm and comfort them.[5]
Various artists have covered the song, including Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1965 and 1977, the Chambers Brothers in 1968, Bob Dylan in 1975, and Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck in 1985. Australian group Human Nature had a minor hit in Australia with their version in 1997.
- ^ Cogan, Jim; Clark, William (2003). Temples of Sound: Inside the Great Recording Studios. San Francisco, California, USA: Chronicle Books. p. 133. ISBN 0-8118-3394-1.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. Various Artists - Chartbusters USA, Vol. 3 (2003) Review at AllMusic. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
- ^ "The Impressions, 'People Get Ready'". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ "New Entries to National Recording Registry | News Releases - Library of Congress". Loc.gov. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- ^ Erickson, Brad (2018) People Get Ready. Library of Congress. National Recording Registry