THE CHAMBERS BROTHERS, “TIME HAS COME TODAY”

Welcome to The Minute of Spin, a bite-sized music segment in which we explore a single song that came to define an entire band. Unfortunately, we can't afford the rights to the songs we spotlight, so you won't actually hear the song. But you’re welcome to listen to it here.

Originally from Lee County, Mississippi, where they honed their skills in the local Baptist church, brothers Joe, Willie, Lester, and George Chambers initially set their sights on the folk communities of Los Angeles and New York City. After playing the ‘65 Newport Folk Festival, the Brothers firmly established themselves on the national scene.

Their first two albums, recorded live in L.A. and Boston, highlighted the band’s early R & B leanings. This was followed by something of a bidding war over the Brothers, with both RCA and Warner Brothers duking it out with Columbia. Columbia won – mainly, it seems, because they didn’t want to put them in suits. But things got fuzzy: upon learning of the group’s new song “Time Has Come Today,” Columbia president Clive Davis asked for it to be recorded by a white group, something the African-American band was vehemently against.

By ‘68, the band had added white drummer Brian Keenan in time for its third record, “Time Has Come,” which showed off the Brothers’ rock proclivities to maximum effect. “Time Has Come Today,” an eleven minute and six second blast of psychedelia, cowbell, reverb, and maniacal laughter became a rallying cry of the day. Aside from the repeated exclamation of the word “Time,” the song doesn’t hint at revolution: it’s more about the emerging of a new consciousness. Still, the song’s power catapulted a shortened version to #11 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for five straight weeks, never cracking the top ten.

The Chambers Brothers released several more records on a variety of labels in the late sixties and early to mid seventies, but nothing captured the commercial appeal of Time Has Come. The boys went on to become studio musicians and to devote time to their church back home. The song has since enjoyed cover versions by Steve Earle & Sheryl Crow, the Ramones, and others.