Keep On Pushing (song)
"Keep On Pushing" is a 1964 single by The Impressions. The single became the group's sixth Top 40 single, and a Top 10 Pop smash, peaking at number ten. It went to number one for two weeks on the Cash Box R&B chart.[2]
| "Keep On Pushing" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Impressions | ||||
| from the album Keep On Pushing | ||||
| B-side | "I Love You (Yeah)" | |||
| Released | 1964 | |||
| Recorded | 1964 | |||
| Genre | Progressive soul[1] | |||
| Length | 2:30 | |||
| Label | ABC-Paramount | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Curtis Mayfield | |||
| Producer(s) | Johnny Pate | |||
| The Impressions singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
It was one of the songs sung in the Civil Rights Movement in America during the turbulent 1960s and was the title song of The Impressions' Top 10 hit album, Keep On Pushing. The title was mentioned in-between the lyrics, by Curtis Mayfield in the Impressions rendition of the Negro Spiritual "Amen". (1964). The album (cover) is one of several featured on the front cover art of the Bob Dylan's 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home.
Decades later, the song was used as the theme to the 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address by then-Illinois State Senator Barack Obama, who endorsed U.S. Senator John Kerry for President. It was frequently played at rallies in the early days of the 2020 presidential campaign of Joe Biden. It was even featured in the 1995 film Dead Presidents.
References
- Backus, Rob (1976). Fire Music: A Political History of Jazz (2nd ed.). Vanguard Books. ISBN 091770200X.
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 272.