(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People

Album: (For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People (1971)
Charted: 32 26
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was written by Chi-Lites lead vocalist Eugene Record, who said of this song in a 1971 interview with Disc and Music Echo: "When something is wrong it's wrong. And if you haven't seen anything to make it right you have to continue with your feelings. We travel about a lot and there's a lot of things we see that don't look good. This is about the only way we can try and set them right; by bringing people's attention to them." (This interview is available at Rock's Backpages.)
  • Chi-Lites bass singer Creadel "Red" Jones gets a prominent vocal on this track, punctuating Record's lead.
  • John Lennon's "Power to the People" was a hit shortly before this song cracked the charts.
  • Like The Temptations, The Chi-Lites specialized in songs about love and heartbreak, but did release an occasional political song like this one. Eugene Record explained: "I don't want to get involved in this militant thing. I believe in what I'm doing but I don't want to get any deeper involved. The songs are really what I feel; I don't go into it to intentionally get involved. From now on I'm just going to write and use my common sense and if it touches on a political thing then I won't go too far with it. If you go too far it can hurt you, at least as far as records go, because if you get down to saying things that are really truthful some people don't want to accept the truth and will back away or stand in your way to slow you down."

Comments: 1

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 4th 1971, "(For God's Sake) Give More Power to the People"" by the Chi-Lites entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 at position #76; seven weeks later on May 23rd, 1971 it peaked at #26 {for 2 weeks} and spent 11 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #4 on the Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
    Between 1969 and 1998 the Chi-Town quartet had forty-one hits on the R&B Singles chart; twelve made the Top 10 with two reaching #1, "Have You Seen Her" for 2 weeks in 1971 and "Oh Girl" for 2 weeks in 1972...
    They just missed have a third #1 record when "Stoned Out of Mind" peaked at #2* in 1973...
    R.I.P. lead singer Eugene Record {1940 - 2005}...
    * The week "Stoned Out of Mind" was at #2 on the R&B Singles chart, the #1 record for that week was "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."