The Impressions: People Get Ready

In 1965, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions had a #3 hit record with “People Get Ready” our Spiritual Sunday selection. It is one of those songs that is akin to “This Train,” “Morning Train,” “Death’s A Little Black Train,” and others that relates a spiritual message to a train ride. This was the biggest hit for The Impressions and is generally considered their best known song. The band was only a trio at the time they recorded “People Get Ready” and consisted of Mayfield, Sam Gooden, and Fred Cash.

Rolling Stone placed “People Get Ready” at 24th in the “Greatest Songs of All Time.” It also was chosen by twenty music professionals (including Paul McCartney, Hal David, Brian Wilson) as one of the “Top Ten Songs of All Time.”