Gooden and the Brooks brothers decided to move to Chicago where they met Mayfield and Butler. Cash was so young when the group decided to move that his mother would not allow him to go. Butler convinced Mayfield to join the Roosters and they started performing together in the Chicago area. They rehearsed their music at Seward Park located on the grounds of the Cabrini Green Projects.
While performing at a local talent show at the Washburne Trade School in Chicago, they met Eddie Thomas, who at that time was managing The Medallionaires...they approached Eddie to manage them also. Impressed by their unique sound, Thomas convinced them to change their name from The Roosters to The Impressions.
Thomas immediately started to work on securing them with a recording contract with a major record company on Chicago's famous record Row on south Michigan Avenue where Eddie was unsuccessful with King records and Chess records. However, that did not stop him. He next met Calvin Carter of Vee-Jay Records where he was instantly excited over The Impressions' music and they were immediately contracted. Within three weeks of signing their contracts, they were in the studio recording their first single "For Your Precious Love" which sold well over a million copies.
Due to a series of complications at Vee-Jay Records, the single ended up being released on two additional labels, Falcon (a label distributed by Vee-Jay) and Abner (formerly Falcon) The song was now on 3 labels, each of which read "Jerry Butler and the Impressions" since Vee-Jay recognized Butlers' distinctive sound and wanted him out front.
Originally released in May of 1958 by July of the same year “For Your Precious Love” reached number 11 on the Pop and number 3 on the R&B Charts and by the end of that year sold over 900,000 copies.
“It’s Alright”
After being a member of the Impressions for only six months Butler left to pursue a solo career. Fred Cash, a member of the Roosters before the group moved to Chicago took Butler’s place. Vee-Jay Records decided not to re-sign the group after Butler’s departure. Eddie Thomas and the group saved all their monies and piled it together to go into Universal Studios and record a demo titled Gypsy Woman. In 1960, Thomas took a plane to New York and was able to secure a deal with ABC Paramount Records. With the change, Curtis Mayfield emerged as the new lead vocal and songwriter.
Their first ABC Paramount single “Gypsy Woman” reached #20 Pop while rising to #2 R&B. A few more singles were issued but none with the impact of “Gypsy Woman”, so in 1963, Mayfield, Gooden and Cash opted to return to Chicago while the Brooks brothers returned to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Impressions were now a trio, and their first 45 release under that configuration was “Sad, Sad Girl and Boy”.
The group recorded the soundtrack for the film "Three the Hard Way" in 1973 and in 1976 moved over to Atlantic's Cotillion affiliate.
