[1] The group was founded as the Roosters by Chattanooga, Tennessee natives Sam Gooden, Richard Brooks and Arthur Brooks, who moved to Chicago and added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their line-up to become Jerry Butler & the Impressions.

By 1962, Butler and the Brookses had departed, and after switching to ABC-Paramount Records, Mayfield, Gooden, and returning original Impressions' member Fred Cash collectively became a top-selling soul act.

They are also 1998 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees for their hit "People Get Ready", and winners of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Pioneer Award (in 2000).

However, soon after the release of the R&B Top 30 hit "Come Back My Love", Butler left the group to go on to a successful solo career.

Mayfield wrote a number of Butler's early solo hits, and used the money to get the Impressions to move to New York City.

1964 brought the first of Mayfield's Black pride anthem compositions, "Keep on Pushing", which became a top 10 smash on both the Billboard Pop and R&B chart, peaking at No.

Their 1966 single "Can't Satisfy" was deemed to share significant similarities with "This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)" by Motown group the Isley Brothers; Motown sued and Curtis Mayfield had to share writing credits with songwriting-production team Holland-Dozier-Holland and Sylvia Moy for his song.

7 pop hit "Amen", the Impressions failed to reach the R&B top ten for three more years, finally scoring in 1968 with the #9 "I Loved and Lost".

After the release of the Check Out Your Mind LP in 1970, Mayfield left the group and began a successful solo career, the highlight of which was writing and producing the Super Fly soundtrack, followed by collaborating on the soundtracks of Claudine, Sparkle, and A Piece of the Action.

New members Ralph Johnson and Reggie Torian replaced Hutson,[3] and the Impressions had three R&B top 5 singles in 1974–1975: the No.

[3] In 1976, the Impressions left Curtom and Mayfield behind for Cotillion Records and had their final major hit with "Loving Power".

Singles and albums sales continued to slip, and Evans left in 1979, reducing the group to a trio.

Mayfield was paralyzed from the neck down, after lighting equipment fell on him during a live performance at Wingate Field in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1990.

In 2008 Universal Music & Hip O Records released Movin' On Up – the first-ever video compilation of the Impressions, featuring brand-new interviews with original Impressions members Sam Gooden and Fred Cash, along with taped interviews with the now-late Curtis Mayfield and video performances of the group's greatest hits and several of Mayfield's solo hits.

In 2011, the Impressions began a collaboration with German-born DJ Pari of the Soulpower organization, who managed their career until their retirement in 2018.

They embarked to England for their first ever public performances at Barbican Centre in London and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, followed by a trip to Madrid, Spain, in 2012.

In July 2012, they performed at the official Curtis Mayfield 70th Birthday Tribute Concert at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

The 7" record featured original members Fred Cash, Sam Gooden, and Reggie Torian and was produced by Binky Griptite, guitarist for the Dap-Kings.

alleging that Young Jeezy's song "Time" inappropriately incorporated the instrumental portion of the Impressions "Getting it On", which was registered with the United States Copyright Office in 1973.

[8] In 2015, then 30-year old Jermaine Purifory, an American Idol contestant and former session-vocalist for the musical comedy-drama Glee, joined the Impressions as their new lead singer.

[11][12] Ralph Johnson (born on October 6, 1949, in Greenville, South Carolina)[13] died in Piedmont on December 4, 2016, at age 67.