Artist: Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart
Video: From YouTube.
Written by Curtis Mayfield in 1965, “People Get Ready” captures the optimism and faith of the civil rights movement. Dozens of artists have covered the song, including Bob Dylan, John Denver, Aretha Franklin, Sting, John Mayer and Seal.
Rolling Stone magazine declared it the 24th greatest song of ALL-TIME. Not too shabby. However, it is clearly not as good as any of the next 79 songs that will be featured here.
Jeff Beck’s guitar brilliance and Rod Stewart’s vocals combined to deliver one of the better versions in 1985. It was their first recording together since their success with The Jeff Beck Group in the late 60’s. In recent years, it has been rumored that they would once again collaborate.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Beck/Stewart version missed Billboard’s Top 40 completely, peaking at #48. I suppose it is quite different than the typical 1985 pop hit. I know it escaped my attention at the time. My first memory of “People Get Ready” was Bono's performance in one of the greatest concerts I’ve attended, U2’s Joshua Tree tour in 1987.
The video opens with Rod writing a letter to Jeff that says: "Why not come to L.A. and take up the guitar professionally?" Dozens of people in a small farming town are featured, mingling with the performers. You can really feel the sense of community. Classic tune, well covered by a couple of pros.
When I started my 1980s music blog, this was the very first song from 1985 I featured. I remember seeing the video a whole bunch of times, but only remember hearing it once on the radio (and, of course, never on Casey Kasem's show). Here's a link to my post:
ReplyDeletehttp://80smusicmayhem.blogspot.com/2011/04/jeff-beck-rod-stewart-people-get-ready.html
Actually, I was listening to this song on a satellite station while I was eating in a restaurant...and it was part of my inspiration for starting the blog, and for featuring many of the lower-charting hits of the decade that are still remembered by listeners.