“Mighty Mighty (Spade & Whitey)”
From the Impressions’ 1969 album The Young Mods’ Forgotten Story. This closed out the album and is one of the best things ever. The album marked the group’s move away from being just another vocal group to being a voice in the Civil Rights movement. Their frontman, one of pop music’s few actual geniuses, Curtis Mayfield began this move and used the clout he got to start his own label. Custom Records, one of the first owned by an African American, would go on to put out records by Baby Huey, the Staple Singers, and Donny Hathaway, among others. It would stay in business until 1980 following the decline in soul music’s popularity.
The current masters are held by Warner Bros. and the Mayfield, as Curtis passed away from injuries sustained at a live gig in 1990. He died the day after Christmas, 1999, but managed to put out one last album, 1996′s superlative New World Order.
After one more album with Mayfield, Check Your Mind, the Impressions reformed around singer Leroy Huston. After a number of line-up changes, they broke up in 1981. However, in 2011, the surviving members got back to play a tribute to Mayfield and spent a couple of years touring before playing their combination farewell-60th anniversary tour in Japan. Sometimes co-lead singer Sam Gooden is the only surviving original member.
