It's Over Folks. Hippie Anthem Sold To KFC.

I can't wade through the chicken jokes and the occasional "Who are the Youngbloods?" questions but "Get It Together" was used in a commercial as early as the '70s. I remember hearing/seeing it when I was a kid. I can't find it om YouTube, it must have disappeared along with that Frank Sinatra "Young at Heart" commercial I heard around the same era...

 

Here is the real anthem of the 60s

"If 6 Was 9"

Yeah, sing the song, Bro'

If the sun refuse to shine,
I don't mind, I don't mind,
If the mountains fell in the sea,
let it be, it ain't me.
Alright, 'cos I got my own world to look through,
And I ain't gonna copy you.

Now if 6 turned out to be 9,
I don't mind, I don't mind,
Alright, if all the hippies cut off all their hair,
I don't care, I don't care.
Dig, 'cos I got my own world to live through
And I ain't gonna copy you.

White collared conservative flashing down the street,

Pointing their plastic finger at me.
They're hoping soon my kind will drop and die,
But I'm gonna wave my freak flag high, high.
Wave on, wave on
Fall mountains, just don't fall on me
Go ahead on Mr. Business man, you can't dress like me.
Sing on Brother, play on drummer.

 

Think they were more into sports cars...

 

Some networks disable fast-forwarding.

 

These are different times no doubt, and yet I've still managed to maintain a strong code of ethics, raised, and am still raising four children, live a law abiding life and work hard 5-6 days a week, have done and still do countless Charity and Benefit gigs in my time, pay taxes, am a member of the school PTA, am a hippie at heart, was extremely close to Chet Helms and Bill Graham growing up, am close friends with Hugh Romney still, and by my own mothers account, am generally a great guy, NOT into commercialism of ideals and sacred things, and won't sell my soul for anything. And a while back at my request, I got Universal Music Group to nix an idea to put GET TOGETHER on a CD you get from collecting and sending in "CAMEL BUCKS". The song is not: Come on People now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to smoke and kill each other right now...... Don't care HOW much money would have come in, it was sickening to me to think.....

However I've been quiet about the whose-its and whats-its for quite some time, decades to be exact, and I can assure you that what trickles in from the song GET TOGETHER to me and my family is very little indeed....
When I was 3 years old my father (DINO VALENTI) had signed away 100% of the royalties to the song (GET TOGETHER) to a company called Tickson Music which then signed it over again to another and it virtually changed hands several more times before it landed firmly with ALMO IRVING MUSIC, (Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss- A&M) and they owned the Writers rights AND the Publishing rights for years. Almo Irving was sold to Universal Music Group (UMG) and the song was ultimately swallowed up by the Giant itself. My father never saw a dime of it for over 30 years til' his death on November 16th 20 years ago next month. At one point with the help of a Giant amongst Lawyers in the music publishing world and out of the goodness of his heart, Ira Selsky, a true Mensch who used to work for Herb and Jerry was able to get a very small portion of the rights back from Herb out of the goodness of Herb's heart. We are now going on 50 years since its Copyright and while the song probably made tens of millions over its premium years, my family has only recently seen anything, is not in charge of the Publishing, and after taxes doesn't amount to much at all. Especially since my father Never paid taxes his whole career and I am still paying those off as well. Unfortunately the story of Dad (DINO VALENTI aka CHET POWERS) and what happened to the GET TOGETHER money is a famous one and has indeed been one of legend, yet until now I personally have never seen the correct version (and there are some funny ones) to date. PS: No, my father did not sell the rights to the song to afford himself an attorney to get out of Prison, the deed had been done a good 5 years previously to his stint in Prison so....

There you have it, the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...... and.... I'm still working at a real job..... so if you need Solar Energy in Calfornia I'm your guy...

I chose this forum to finally speak up since I've always enjoyed perusing the Steve Hoffman Forums being it is made up of generally music and like minded folk. Not a mosh-pit of dissent and vulture-ism that "eh-em" so many others can be, and I decided to make this my first post among the brethren of this forum. I hope at least in this song's case I can right the ill fated notions of what it might or could possibly be? as far as whosit and whatsit regarding the song, and we could begin to, pardon the pun, "GET TOGETHER" on what really went down with the song and the Colonel...

Sincerely
Joli Valenti Powers

PS: Popeye's too greasy, Church's sucks... Just sayin'

 

Thanks for the post, nice to see you here

My general opinion on these things is if you didnt write the song (which none of us posters did), it's none of your business what the writer wants to do with it, period,

I realize the actual "ownership" of songs and their use is usually not in the writer's hands, and that's a whole 'nother topic.

 

Because when I hear a song I like, I don't want to think about fried chicken or tennis shoes or cleaning products...I want to enjoy the song for what it is.

 

There's always the mute button.

That way, when the KFC commercial comes on, one can just assume that some crappy modern pop jingle is playing in the background - rather than The Youngbloods classic.

 

Like the song hasn't been overexposed by this point anyway.

 

They may have been somewhat principled back then, but now they're 70 odd and need some money. So to hell with it.

 

As if classic rock radio wasn't bad enough, we have to hear all those songs again on the TV with butchered lyrics advertising cleaning products and hot pockets!

 

I don't think it's possible to have too much peace and brotherhood, even if it is in the form of a four and a half minute pop song.

 

there's always someone new...think outside the forum.

 

yea, those days are long gone...

 

bring 'em on brother...it's the American way! as far back as I can remember it was common...I did enjoy The Left Banke back in the 60's singing their hit song Walk Away Renee to a Coca Cola Commercial! DAMN SELLOUTS!!!!

 

Other leading soda brands just aren't the same... you're not to blame.

 

Ha! thanks...pretty funny.

 

I grew up with popular songs in commercials so I guess that's why it does not bother me...

 

KFC is still around? I thought they went out of business.
Michael, I grew up with classical music in cartoons.
"Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit"

 

Uh, no.

It is the world's second largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 18,875 outlets in 118 countries and territories as of December 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC

 

I know I've mentioned this one before, but as an '80s kid I knew CSN's "Our House" as an Eckrich sausage jingle long before I ever heard the original.