Chet Powers, "Get Together" -- The Back Story
GET TOGETHER
For as many years as I've been around and as many musical endeavors as I've pursued, I was completely unaware of the backstory behind "Get Together" before The Youngbloods added their dulcet tones and Jesse Colin Young’s spot-on tenor to make it available to the music-loving public.
I played their album Elephant Mountain so many times that I wore it out and had to buy a second copy. I’ll never forget that a friend was with me when I bought it the second time and asked, "Don't throw the old one out, can I have it?" He knew why I was replacing it, but wanted it anyway. I didn't buy a lot of records back then due to a lack of funds, but we had shared so many moments listening to both sides with friends sharing a joint, -such lawbreakers we were!—that I told him I'd buy him his own fresh copy so he could enjoy the full ride. I pulled out a $20 bill earned from my grass-cutting side hustle, which back then was just "the hustle" and my only source of income. We still reminisce about those days while sharing a now legal pleasure that so many were penalized for at the time. Read the story below, and you'll see why that memory came back to me.
A couple of days ago, I heard the song again and decided to dive deeper into its history. What I discovered was nothing short of amazing. The background behind the song’s birth and its subsequent releases by countless musicians and bands in the parlance of the times, blew my mind. The history of "Get Together" is yours for the taking, and I hope you enjoy the trip as much as I did.
There’s a strange, quiet irony floating around in the history of American popular music. Every now and then, a track comes along that becomes so big, so ubiquitous, that it completely swallows the person who wrote it.
You Know The Chorus - Everyone Knows The Chorus
"Come on people now,
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together,
Try to love one another right now."
Below are three distinct stops along that path—showing how a single song transformed from an obscure folk tune into an anthem, while its creator remained almost completely hidden behind the scenes.
GET TOGETHER
by CHET POWERS
When The Youngbloods broke it wide open in the late '60s, it turned into the defining anthem for peace and human connection. But the guy who actually sat down with an acoustic guitar and pulled those words out of thin air didn't get to ride that wave. In fact, by the time the big checks started rolling in, he didn't even own his own song.
His name was Chet Powers though depending on which room you walked into in Greenwich Village or the Bay Area, you might have known him as Dino Valenti, or later, Jesse Farrow. He was a classic, larger-than-life figure: charismatic, wildly talented, and always operating under an alias. Operating under a pseudonym wasn't just a gimmick; it was a way of keeping one step ahead of the box the industry always tries to put you in.
Right after writing the track in the early '60s, Powers ran into legal trouble over a pot bust. Facing real jail time and needing cash fast for legal defense, he made a desperate trade: he sold off his publishing rights to secure representation. He got out of jail early and restarted his songwriting career, but the song took on a life of its own without him.
Love is but a song we sing
Fear's the way we die
You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry
Though the bird is on the wing
And you may not know why
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
Some may come and some may go
He will surely pass
When the one that left us here
Returns for us at last
We are but a moment's sunlight
Fading in the grass
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
If you hear the song I sing
You will understand, listen
You hold the key to love and fear
All in your trembling hand
Just one key unlocks them both
It's there at your command
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
Come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
I said, come on, people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
Right now
Right now
शान्ति εἰρηνικός سلام 和平 ☮︎ शांति 평화 ſíot͡ʃáin ሰላም pax