THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,848) The Impressions — “Long, Long Winter”
I hope the Impressions’ (see #118, 285, 1,347, 1,544) meteorological forecast is way off base, or it’s gonna be a long, long, winter. “My girl is gone from me And my hearts in misery And it’s a long long a winter for me”
This wonderful ‘64 B-side and track off of Keep on Pushing peaked at #35 on the R&B chart.
As to Keep on Pushing, John Bush writes:
Already a celebrated songwriter by the time of the third Impressions album, Curtis Mayfield introduced a political element to his material with the Top Ten hit “Keep on Pushing.” An anthem of the burgeoning civil-rights movement . . . [it] cemented his blend of gospel optimism with a relentless spirit of self-improvement. Though it was the only message song present, the album featured all the hallmarks of an Impressions set: impeccably smooth harmonies, the dynamic horn charts of Johnny Pate, and many more of Mayfield’s irresistible songs (each with a clever spin on the usual love lyric as well as a strong sense of melody). “Talking About My Baby,” the album’s other big hit, was an adoring love song driven by a simple chorus and delivered by soul music’s greatest harmonists. The simple ballad “I’ve Been Trying” was one of the most delicate and powerful the group had ever delivered, and the gospel march “Amen” [A-side to “Winter] became a Top Ten pop hit in early 1965 after its use in the Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field (for which Poitier became the first African-American to receive an Academy award). Keep on Pushing was the Impressions’ first Top Ten album hit, and an excellent introduction for pop audiences just waking up to the inspirational power of soul music’s finest group.
Oh, and Bob Marley recorded a cool cover in ’70. David Hopper tells us:
As a reggae fan, I was aware of the major influence that American soul music had on the development of the Jamaican genre. But I did not realize what a direct impact Curtis Mayfield had on the king of reggae. In the [2025] film [The Makings of Curtis Mayfield], Bob Marley, in an archival clip, and his son, Stephen . . . both discuss how the Impressions and R&B music were what was playing on the radio in Jamaica in the 1960s. The three-part harmony utilized by the Impressions inspired the sound of rocksteady music, which evolved into reggae. Marley’s band the Wailers covered a bunch of Impressions tracks, including “I’m Still Waiting,” “Long Long Winter,” and “I Made a Mistake.” His signature song, “One Love,” was originally written in 1965 as a ska tune. Then, in the mid-‘70s during a tumultuous election in Jamaica, Marley revised the lyrics, inserting a message of peace. Because “One Love” contains an interpolation of the Impressions’ “People Get Ready,” the new version was titled “One Love/People Get Ready” and Mayfield was given a writing credit by Island Records to avoid a lawsuit.
https://360degreesound.com/5-things-i-learned-from-the-makings-of-curtis-mayfield/
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