‘Let's Get Together’, also known as ‘Get Together’ and ‘Everybody Get Together’, is a song written in the mid-1960s by American singer-songwriter Chet Powers (stage name Dino Valenti), from psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. A hit version by the Youngbloods, included on their 1967 debut album The Youngbloods, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. The song was originally written and recorded as ‘Let's Get Together’ by Chet Powers under the stage name Dino Valenti as early as 1963, but was not officially released until 1996 on the compilation album Someone to Love: The Birth of the San Francisco Sound.
The song is an appeal for peace and brotherhood, presenting the polarity of love versus fear, and the choice to be made between them. It is best remembered for the impassioned plea in the lines of its refrain ("Come on people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now"), which is repeated several times in succession to bring the song to its conclusion.
The Youngbloods heard this song at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village when the singer Buzzy Linhart performed it. Jesse Colin Young went backstage and had Linhart write out the lyrics for the song, which The Youngbloods then recorded. In an interview with Young, he said: "Somehow that song struck me in a deep and spiritual way and I knew that it would be with me for the rest of my life."
The most notable recording of ‘Let's Get Together’ came in 1967, when the Youngbloods released their version under the title ‘Get Together’, from their eponymous debut album. Initially released as a single in July 1967, it became a minor Hot 100 hit for them, peaking at No. 62 and reaching No. 37 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. However, renewed interest in the Youngbloods' version came when it was used in a radio public service announcement as a call for brotherhood by the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It was subsequently re-released in 1969, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was their only top 40 hit on that chart.
Label – RCA Victor
Songwriter – Chet Powers
Producer – Felix Pappalardi
SONG LYRICS
[Intro][Verse 1]
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
[Chorus]
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another right now
[Verse 2]
Some may come and some may go
We 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
[Chorus]
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
[Bridge]
[Chorus]
Come on people now
Smile on your brother
Everybody get together
Try to love one another
Right now
[Intro]
[Verse 3]
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
[Chorus]
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