Daily Dose: Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, “Get Together”

Daily Dose is your daily source for the song you absolutely, positively need to hear every day. Curated by the Paste Music Team.

The Youngbloods’ “Get Together” was as song that I had heard a million times over growing up, either soundtracking some ‘60s retrospective or tossed into the mix of the oldies radio stations that my dad used to listen to in the car. But a few years back, listening to an episode of American Routes that focused on the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., the producers dropped this song into the flow of the program, right after a quiet moment of reflection…and it took my breath away. The song changed for me instantly from a relic into a classic.

I was reminded of that moment listening to this new interpretation of the tune from roots-rock lifers Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin. The pair recorded a collaborative album (Downey To Lubbock, out on June 1st via Yep Roc) after bonding during an impromptu tour they did last fall. As with those shows, the two combine their individual aesthetics perfectly here, with Gilmore’s quavering voice leading the charge and turning the plaintive anthem into a steaming call-to-arms.

Here’s what the two artists had to say about this song and their cover of it:

“This song is a compact and powerful expression of an ancient, simple vision. It is timeless yet seems particularly appropriate ?in? our current world?. Jesse Colin Young and the Youngbloods did an unmatchable version and we did our best to honor it without making an imitation.” – Jimmie Dale Gilmore

“We chose ‘Get Together’ because of the current worrisome trend of divisiveness in our society. The divisions are similar to the ones prevalent during the 1960s that the song was composed in. We wanted to say not only where we stood in relation to these divisions but also ask for everyone to find some sane common ground.” – Dave Alvin