Get Together "The Youngbloods First Album"
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Album Summary
Born out of the fertile creative soil of New York City's mid-sixties music scene, The Youngbloods laid it all down on their debut album, released in 1967 on RCA Records. This was a band that came together with something to say and a whole lot of ways to say it — blending rock, folk, blues, and soul into something that felt brand new and ancient all at once. Produced with the kind of organic, unforced energy that defined the best recordings of that era, the album captured Jesse Colin Young, Jerry Corbitt, Lowell Levinger, and Joe Bauer at the very beginning of what would become a legendary run. Recorded right there in the thick of the psychedelic and folk-rock revolution, this debut was The Youngbloods planting their flag and saying, loud and clear, that they had arrived.
Reception
- The album made its presence known without setting the charts on fire upon its initial release, but the slow-burning power of 'Get Together' would eventually vindicate every note — the song was re-released in 1969 and climbed into the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100, proving that some music simply needs time to find its moment.
- Critical reception at the time was a mixed bag, with some reviewers celebrating the band's fearless genre-blending across rock, folk, blues, and soul, while others struggled to put a neat label on what The Youngbloods were doing — which, in retrospect, was exactly the point.
Significance
- This debut stands as one of the early landmarks of psychedelic folk-rock fusion, threading the needle between the acoustic folk revival that had swept the early sixties and the electric, mind-expanding rock experimentation that was reshaping everything by 1967.
- 'Get Together,' nestled right there in the heart of Side A, announced itself as something more than a pop song — it was an anthem of radical optimism and human unity that gave the counterculture movement one of its most enduring and sincerely felt rallying cries.
- The album's embrace of blues standards like 'Statesboro Blues' and 'C.C. Rider' alongside original material revealed a band deeply rooted in American musical tradition, helping to forge the blueprint for the roots-conscious rock that would flourish in the years to follow.
Samples
- "Get Together" — one of the most recognized anthems of the 1960s counterculture, the song has been interpolated, referenced, and sampled across multiple decades in soul, hip-hop, and pop contexts, with its chorus remaining among the most quoted vocal hooks from the era.
Tracklist
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A1 Grizzly Bear 95
2:20
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A2 All Over The World (La-La) 110
3:14
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A3 Statesboro Blues 153
2:18
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A4 Get Together 103
4:39
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A5 One Note Man 130
2:24
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B1 The Other Side Of This Life —
2:28
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B2 Tears Are Falling 125
2:25
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B3 Four In The Morning 136
2:51
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B4 Foolin' Around (The Waltz) 101
2:50
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B5 Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby —
2:39
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B6 C.C. Rider 135
2:37
Artist Details
The Youngbloods were a beautiful, free-spirited rock and folk-rock outfit that came together in New York City around 1965, eventually planting their roots in the California counterculture scene and delivering a sound that blended blues, folk, jug band grooves, and psychedelic rock with a warmth that just made your soul smile. Led by the soulful Jesse Colin Young, this band gave the world "Get Together," one of the most powerful anthems of peace and unity the '60s ever produced, a song that became the heartbeat of the entire love generation. Their laid-back, organic sound and genuine message of togetherness made them not just musicians but true spiritual ambassadors of a generation hungry for harmony and hope.
