Songs You May Not Know Were Covers Vol. 6: Get Together (#5)

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Sorry for my inactivity today. My aunt passed away yesterday, and we’ve been getting things ready for the life celebration. Here’s a song about life, celebrating, etc. And waddaya know, it’s a cover! #5: Get Together One of the big “peace and love” anthems of the late 60s, “Get Together” was the only hit for the Youngbloods. It came along at the right time, too: amid the civil unrest in the U.S., spawned by violence in the wake of the assassinations and the protests against the Vietnam war, we needed a song like “Get Together,” with its plea of “try to love one another right now.” Cover? Check. In fact, from what I was able to count, it was the fifth major cover of the song. The song was written by Chet Powers, who later went on to be a member of Quicksilver Messenger Service. If this shocks you, it shouldn’t: the first recording was a folk rendering. The distinction of being the first act to record this iconic “brotherhood of man” song goes to..... The Kingston Trio. They weren’t the only folkies to do it, either: the Chad Mitchell Trio also covered it, featuring a fellow by the name H.J. Deutschendorf on lead vocals. (We all know him as John Denver.) The first charted version came from We Five, who released the song as the follow-up to their hit version of Ian & Sylvia’s “You Were on My Mind.” And this will blow your mind: it was also recorded by the Jefferson Airplane!!! None of that was remembered once the Youngbloods’ recording became the “definitive” take on the song. Get Together (Originally titled “Let’s Get Together”) Written by Chet Powers Originally recorded by the Kingston Trio, 1964 Famously covered by the Youngbloods, 1967 (re-released in 1969) This is pretty “folky” so it’ll probably explain why the Youngbloods’ version is remembered over the others: