The quintessential Chicago soul group, the Impressions� place in R&B history would be secure if they�d done nothing but launch the careers of soul legends Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield. But far more than that, the Impressions recorded some of the most distinctive vocal-group R&B of the �60s under Mayfield�s guidance. Their style was marked by airy, feather-light harmonies and Mayfield�s influentially sparse guitar work, plus, at times, understated Latin rhythms. If their sound was sweet and lilting, it remained richly soulful thanks to the group�s firm grounding in gospel tradition; they popularized the three-part vocal trade-offs common in gospel but rare in R&B at the time, and recorded their fair share of songs with spiritual themes, both subtle and overt. Furthermore, Mayfield�s interest in the civil rights movement led to some of the first socially conscious R&B songs ever recorded, and his messages grew more explicit as the �60s wore on, culminating in the streak of brilliance that was his early-�70s solo work. The Impressions carried on without Mayfield, but only matched their earlier achievements in isolated instances, and finally disbanded in the early �80s.
The Impressions were formed in Chicago in 1957 as a doo wop group called the Roosters, a group of Chattanooga, Tennessee transplants that included vocalists Sam Gooden and brothers Richard and Arthur Brooks. Lead singer Jerry Butler joined up and soon brought in his friend Curtis Mayfield as guitarist; the two had previously sung together in a church choir and a couple of local gospel groups as youths. Renamed the Impressions by their manager, the group scored a major hit in 1958 with the classic ballad �For Your Precious Love,� which hit the pop Top 20 and the R&B Top Five. Butler�s gospel-inflected lead vocal was a departure from the norm, and the fact that the single billed him in front of the rest of the group foreshadowed his quick exit for a solo career, after just one more single (�Come Back My Love�). With new vocalist Fred Cash in tow, Mayfield took over the lead tenor role, eventually becoming the group�s chief composer as well. First, though, he hit the road as guitarist and musical director for Butler�s backing band, and also co-wrote some of Butler�s earliest singles, including the R&B number one �He Will Break Your Heart� in late 1960.
Mayfield�s success as a songwriter encouraged him to form his own publishing company. With the money he earned by working with Butler, he reconvened the Impressions and brought them to New York to record for ABC-Paramount in 1961. Their first single, the Latin-inflected �Gypsy Woman,� was a number two R&B smash, also reaching the pop Top 20. Several follow-ups failed to duplicate its chart success, and the Brooks brothers left the group in 1962; now down to a trio, the Impressions returned to Chicago and began recording with arranger Johnny Pate, whose horn and string embellishments added a bit more heft to their sound. They struck gold in 1963 with �It�s All Right,� whose gospel-style lead-swapping helped make it not only their first R&B number one, but their biggest pop hit as well, with a peak of number four. The same year, they issued their eponymous first LP, which many critics still consider one of their finest. 1964 brought the hit single �Keep on Pushing,� the first of Mayfield�s numerous black pride anthems (though at this stage, his sentiments were much less explicit than they would later become). The album of the same name also featured a marching-beat cover of the gospel standard �Amen,� inspired by the song�s inclusion in the Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field. Gospel also informed what became perhaps the best-known Impressions hit, 1965�s �People Get Ready�; if its lyrics weren�t overtly political, Mayfield�s intent was clear, as the song became an anthem of transcendence for the civil rights movement and an oft-covered soul standard.
The mid-�60s saw Mayfield trying to keep pace with the Motown hit factory by incorporating elements of its style into his own writing. The group recorded prolifically in 1965, but their commercial fortunes dropped off over the next couple of years. When the Impressions returned to the upper reaches of the R&B charts, it was with 1968�s �We�re a Winner,� the most straightforward celebration of black pride Mayfield had yet composed. That summer, the group left ABC to record for Mayfield�s newly formed Curtom imprint, which allowed them greater freedom in terms of the lyrical content Mayfield wanted to pursue. More aggressive message tracks like �This Is My Country,� �Choice of Colors,� and �Check Out Your Mind� followed over the next couple of years, as did some of the group�s most consistent albums, particularly The Young Mods� Forgotten Story (1969). 1970�s Check Out Your Mind was Mayfield�s final album with the Impressions, but the group remained on Curtom after his departure, and he continued to write and produce some of their material.
Mayfield was replaced on lead vocals by Leroy Hutson, who debuted on LP with 1972�s Times Have Changed. At this point, the Impressions were still overshadowed by their ex-leader, who was riding high with brilliant works like Superfly. But Mayfield�s solo momentum cooled down a bit, and after Hutson departed in 1973, new singers Ralph Johnson and Reggie Torian joined Cash and Gooden for the R&B chart-topper �Finally Got Myself Together (I�m a Changed Man),� cut with ex-Motown producer Ed Townsend in 1974. Townsend continued to work with the group for the next couple of years with some success, but in 1976 Johnson left to join the unsuccessful Mystique. Around that point, the Impressions parted ways with Curtom; Nate Evans replaced Johnson, and the group recorded for Cotillion and 20th Century/Chi-Sound with little chart success. Evans eventually departed, leaving the group a trio again. They recorded their final album, Fan the Fire, in 1981; Gooden and Cash occasionally reunited with Mayfield and sometimes Butler for touring commitments. Mayfield was paralyzed in a heartbreaking stage accident in 1990, when a lighting scaffold toppled over on him; he passed away in 1999. -- Steve Huey, All Music Guide
01. It's All Right 02. Gypsy Woman 03. Grow Closer Together 04. Little Young Lover 05. You've Come Home 06. Never Let Me Go |
07. Minstrel and Queen (Queen Majesty) 08. I Need Your Love 09. I'm the One Who Loves You 10. Sad, Sad Girl and Boy 11. As Long as You Love Me 12. Twist and Limbo |
01. Keep on Pushing 02. I've Been Trying 03. I Ain't Supposed To 04. Dedicate My Song to You 05. Long Long Winter 06. Somebody Help Me |
07. Amen 08. I Thank Heaven 09. Talking About My Baby 10. Don't Let It Hide 11. I Love You (Yeah) 12. I Made a Mistake |
01. Sister Love 02. Little Boy Blue 03. Satin Doll 04. Girl You Don't Know Me 05. I Gotta Keep on Moving 06. You Always Hurt the One You Love |
07. That's What Love Will Do 08. I'm So Proud 09. September Song 10. Lemon Tree 11. Ten to One 12. A Woman Who Loves Me |
01. Twilight Time 02. I Wanna Be Around 03. Nature Boy 04. Just One Kiss from You 05. I Want to Be With You 06. Answer Me, My Love |
07. It's Not Unusual 08. Without a Song 09. Falling in Love With You 10. My Prayer 11. Mona Lisa 12. Lonely Man |
01. Woman's Got Soul 02. Emotions (Won't You Let Me Cry) 03. Sometimes I Wonder 04. We're in Love 05. Just Another Dance 06. Can't Work No Longer |
07. People Get Ready 08. I've Found Out That I've Lost 09. Hard to Believe 10. See the Real Me 11. Get up and Move 12. You Must Believe Me |
01. Ridin' High 02. No One Else 03. Gotta Get Away 04. I Need To Belong To Someone 05. Right On Time 06. I Need You |
07. Too Slow 08. Man's Temptation 09. That's What Mama Say 10. Let It Be Me 11. I'm A Telling You |
01. You Always Hurt Me 02. It's All Over 03. Little Girl 04. One Hundred Pounds Of Clay 05. Love's A Comin' 06. You Ought To Be In Heaven |
07. I Can't Stay Away From You 08. Aware Of Love 09. Isle Of The Sirens 10. I'm Still Waitin' 11. She Don't Love Me |
01. We're A Winner 02. Moonlight Shadows 03. Let Me Tell The World 04. I'm Getting Ready 05. Nothing Can Stop Me |
06. No One To Love 07. Little Brown Boy 08. I Loved And I Lost 09. Romancing To The Folk Song 10. Up Up And Away |
01. Fool for You 02. They Don't Know 03. Gone Away 04. So Unusual 05. I'm Loving Nothing |
06. Loves Happening 07. This Is My Country 08. You Want Somebody Else 09. Stay Close to Me 10. My Woman Love |
01. What It Is 02. Thin Line 03. Find The Way 04. Preacher Man |
05. Paint Us All Gray 06. I'm Lost 07. Simple Message 08. I'm Loving You |
01. Sooner or Later 02. Same Thing It Took 03. Old Before My Time 04. First Impressions |
05. Groove 06. I'm So Glad 07. How High Is High 08. Why Must a Love Song Be a Sad Song |
01. Fan the Fire 02. I Don't Wanna Lose Your Lovin' 03. Love, Love, Love 04. You're Mine |
05. I Surrender 06. Take Everything 07. I Don't Mind 08. For Your Precious Love |
01. Gypsy Woman 02. It's All Right 03. We're A Winner 04. Woman's Got Soul 05. Keep On Pushing |
06. Amen 07. I'm So Proud 08. People Get Ready 09. Talking About My Baby 10. You Must Believe Me |
01. Gypsy Woman 02. Grow Closer Together 03. Little Young Lover 04. Minstrel and Queen (Queen Majesty) 05. I'm the One Who Loves You 06. Sad, Sad Girl and Boy 07. It's All Right 08. Talking About My Baby 09. I'm So Proud 10. Keep on Pushing 11. I've Been Trying 12. Girl You Don't Know Me 13. I Made a Mistake 14. You Must Believe Me |
15. Amen 16. People Get Ready 17. Woman's Got Soul 18. Meeting over Yonder 19. I Need You 20. Just One Kiss From You 21. You've Been Cheatin' 22. Since I Lost the One I Love 23. I Can't Satisfy 24. You Always Hurt Me 25. I Can't Stay Away From You 26. We're a Winner 27. We're Rolling On 28. I Loved and I Lost |