Ernie Hines, Our Generation | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 95th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Our Generation” by Mississippi soul musician Ernie Hines.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 95^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Our Generation” performed by Ernie Hines.

“Straighten it out / Straighten it out / Straighten it out.” What do we need to straighten out, Ernie Hines (1938 – )? The world! In “Our Generation”, the ninth track from the Mississippi soul musician’s 1972 album, Electrified, Hines asserts, “Hope in our world is in our generation,” adding “It’s all left up to us to change this present situation,” and “Take a lesson from our elders, don’t make the same mistake.” Deep, socially conscious stuff.  Leon Moore composed “Our Generation” while Tom Nixon, Lester Snell, and Jo Bridges produced it.

“Our Generation” cooks from the beginning. There is a marvelous, soulful groove. The production is terrific, as is the music arrangement.  The instrumentation includes the rhythm section as well as those mean horns. Instrumentally, the riffs are thrilling, particularly the guitar and those articulated, biting horns.  Also, bringing ample soul to the table is Ernie Hines.  His vocals are potent to the nth degree, bringing the tuneful melodies and those socially conscious, thoughtful lyrics to life. “Our leaders make us fight, we don’t know what for / (Let’s straighten it out) / If they want people killed, let them fight the war,” he sings, continuing, “It’s gotta end somewhere, this killing’s gotta cease / If no one went to fight, we could all live in peace.” Hines does the heavy lifting but also gets assistance from background vocals, consistently encouraging our generation, “Let’s straighten it out.” The outro is particularly a treat. Hines brings it with the lead, naming various places (“In the USA… / In Vietnam /… All over the world… / Washington D.C. /… In Detroit city…”). Meanwhile, the background vocals sing the core lyrics (“Our generation… / Let’s straighten it out”). Ultimately, “Our Generation” is a fantastic but painfully underrated soul classic. Hines’ message, as well as his vocal performance, were on-point, PERIOD! Notably, John Legend and The Roots covered this gem on their 2010 Grammy-winning album, Wake Up!. They had great musical taste!