A Musical Call for Unity on American Pastimes

As Democrats and Republicans take off their gloves and pummel each other and the President into submission, American Pastimes features the 60’s anthem “Let’s Get Together.”

In 1967, The Youngbloods (Jesse Colin Young, Lowell Levinger & Joe Bauer) released “Let’s Get Together” on their eponymous debut album. The song made it to #62 on the record charts before rapidly fading into pop oblivion. Two years later however, a New York DJ used the music as the background music of radio and television public service announcements for the National Council of Christians and Jews. Its message of unity and love resonated in the altruistic Aquarian age, gained some traction among listeners, and revived the song’s airplay. The Youngblood’s album was re-titled “Get Together” and re-issued. This time the single reached #5 on the record charts, and eventually sold a million units. Its music, a pre-cursor to country-rock, and its melody and memorable lyrics would stay with a generation of music listeners. We’ve heard it again and again, ever since.

“Let’s Get Together” was written by Chester Powers (aka Dino Valenti). He claimed to write it in the late 1950’s; back in the ‘Beatnik’ era, as opposed to the 1960’s ‘Hippie’ era. This may or may not be true; Chester Powers / Dino Valenti was a myth maker, much like his friend Bobby Zimmerman / Bob Dylan.
 

Valenti started his career in the Boston music scene and soon found his way to New York’s Greenwich Village just in time to perform and hang with the likes of Fred Neil, Karen Dalton, Bob Dylan (the two visited Woody Guthrie together), Lou Gossett, Josh White, Len Chandler, Paul Stookey and Richie Havens. He was one of the few who regularly performed on a 12-string guitar. As a performer he faced one challenge though: His criminal record prevented him from acquiring a cabaret license, so he couldn’t perform in some of the more popular New York venues. By 1963 Valenti had moved to Los Angeles and then to San Francisco where he recorded numerous demos and records that were never released, and where he formed or joined a variety of rock bands with many of the musicians who would come to make up the “San Francisco Sound.”

In 1964 another Bay Area band, the folk group The Kingston Trio made the first recording of his song, “Let’s Get Together.” Soon after, Valenti was busted for drugs, and while awaiting trial, was busted again. He went to prison. While he was incarcerated in Folsom Prison, the Jefferson Airplane recorded the song for their debut album “Take Off.” Over the next few years, the song was recorded by quite a few others: folk singer Hamilton Camp, pre-Byrds David Crosby, by “British Invasion” bands We Five and The Dave Clark Five, and by the psychedelic acid rock band H.P. Lovecraft. You can hear most of these recordings on YouTube.com. After his release from prison, Valenti’s song-writing reputation led to a variety of recording contracts with major labels such as Epic and CBS, but he had little success in recording albums.

The composer didn’t profit much from the record sales of “Let’s Get Together.” To pay for his legal expenses back in 1964, Valenti had sold the publishing rights for the song to the manager of The Kingston Trio. He did go on to some fame and fortune later as the singer-songwriter for Quicksilver Messenger Service (“Fresh Air” and “What About Me?” are two of his most noteworthy compositions). Rock music critic and historian Richie Unterberger writes that Valenti’s most important role in popular music might have been through his demo and unreleased recordings in the mid-1960’s. They had inspired and influenced dozens of musicians who were in the process of melding folk and blues styles with rock music and creating something new and vibrant.

Valenti died in 1994 in Santa Rosa, California.

On American Pastimes this week we'll hear versions of "Let's Get Together" performed by the Kingston Trio, Hamilton Camp, David Crosby, Jefferson Airplane and Dino Valenti.