Keep On Pushing

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Keep On Pushing
Keeponpushing.jpg
Studio album by
the Impressions
ReleasedJune 1964
Genre Chicago soul Gospel
Length31:53
Label ABC-Paramount
Producer Curtis Mayfield
The Impressions chronology
The Never Ending Impressions
(1964)		Keep On Pushing
(1964)		 People Get Ready
(1965)
Singles from Keep On Pushing
  1. "Talking About My Baby / Never Too Much Love"
    Released: 1964
  2. "Keep On Pushing / I Love You (Yeah)"
    Released: 1964
  3. "Amen / Long, Long Winter"
    Released: 1964

Keep On Pushing is a studio album by the Impressions, released on ABC-Paramount in 1964. This was the group's biggest hit album ever, reaching number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, the band's highest position on the chart, [1] and number 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [2] The title track, "Keep On Pushing," reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [3] and number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. [4]

Contents

Production

"Amen" was an African-American spiritual arranged and sung by Jester Hairston for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field , starring Sidney Poitier. Curtis Mayfield had been inspired by the film and the song "Amen" in particular: "Of course, I'd decided to do a version of it. We put it together in the studio starting off with a musical 'swing low sweet chariot', and then we fell into that particular song with somewhat of a marching rhythm." [5]

The album cover has a photograph taken by Don Bronstein of the group pushing Mayfield's Jaguar E-Type. [6] [ self-published source ]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]

John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, describing it as "an excellent introduction for pop audiences just waking up to the inspirational power of soul music's finest group." [7] He said, "the album featured all the hallmarks of an Impressions set: impeccably smooth harmonies, the dynamic horn charts of Johnny Pate, and many more of Mayfield's irresistible songs (each with a clever spin on the usual love lyric as well as a strong sense of melody)." [7]

Keep On Pushing was one of those displayed on the cover of Bob Dylan's 1965 album, Bringing It All Back Home . [8] Bob Marley included "Amen" and "I Made a Mistake" as part of the regular set list of the Wailers. [8]

In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 167 on the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s" list. [9] Evan Minsker said, "Every song is crafted just as beautifully as the title track, with Pate's expert arrangements backing the trio's earworm harmonies." [9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Curtis Mayfield, except where noted

Side one

  1. "Keep On Pushing" –2:30
  2. "I've Been Trying" –2:45
  3. "I Ain't Supposed To" (Mayfield, Jerry Butler) –2:28
  4. "Dedicate My Song to You" (Mayfield, Alice Beard) –1:52
  5. "Long, Long Winter" –2:48
  6. "Somebody Help Me" –3:15

Side two

  1. "Amen" (trad.) –3:30
  2. "I Thank Heaven" –2:30
  3. "Talking About My Baby" –2:33
  4. "Don't Let It Hide" –2:20
  5. "I Love You (Yeah)" –2:07
  6. "I Made a Mistake" –2:31

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

The Impressions
Technical

Charts

ChartPeak
position
US Billboard 200 [1] [10] 8
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [2] [10] 4

References

  1. 1 2 "The Impressions - Billboard 200". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "The Impressions - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  3. ↑ "The Impressions - Hot 100". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  4. ↑ "The Impressions - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  5. ↑ Pruter, Robert (1992). The Anthology: 1961–1977 (liner notes). Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions. MCA Records.
  6. ↑ Muhammad, Idris (April 26, 2012). Inside the Music. Xlibris Corporation. p. 126. ISBN   9781469192185.
  7. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "Keep on Pushing - The Impressions". AllMusic . Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Sullivan, Denise (July 1, 2011). Keep on Pushing: Black Power Music from Blues to Hip-hop. Chicago Review Press. p. 43. ISBN   9781569769065.
  9. 1 2 "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s (2/10)". Pitchfork . August 22, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  10. 1 2 "The Impressions - Awards". AllMusic . Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
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