People Get Ready

Released in February 1965 on ABC-Paramount Records, People Get Ready was The Impressions’ fifth album and marked a decisive turn toward socially conscious music. Every track was written by Curtis Mayfield, whose gospel-rooted songwriting had already helped define what critics called the “Chicago sound”: warm three-part harmonies, orchestrated arrangements by Johnny Pate, and Mayfield’s distinctive staccato guitar work layered over brass, bass, and strings.

The album arrived at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, following hard on the success of “Keep On Pushing” (1964), which had become the de facto anthem of Freedom Rider buses. Its title track would go on to be named by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 23 on the Billboard 200, cementing The Impressions as the leading voice of Black social consciousness in popular music.