Keep Your Head to the Sky

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"Keep Your Head to the Sky"
EW&F- Keep Your Head to the Sky.jpg
Single by Earth, Wind & Fire
from the album Head to the Sky
B-side "Build Your Nest"
Released 1973
Recorded1973
Genre R&B
Length5:00 (album version)
3:25 (single version)
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Maurice White
Producer(s) Joe Wissert
Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology
"Evil"
(1973)		"Keep Your Head to the Sky"
(1973)		"Mighty Mighty"
(1974)

"Keep Your Head to the Sky" is a song recorded by American R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire for their 1973 album, Head to the Sky . It was released as a single by Columbia Records, [1] peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. [2]

Contents

Overview

"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was written by Maurice White and produced by Joe Wissert. The single's b-side was a tune called "Build Your Nest". Both songs came from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1973 studio album Head to the Sky . [1]

Critical reception

Vince Aletti of Rolling Stone proclaimed that Keep Your Head to the Sky "with the gentle admonition to keep your head in faith’s atmosphere, has a luscious, luminous quality". [3] Alex Henderson of Allmusic also called the tune "hauntingly pretty". [4]

Personnel

[5]

Samples

"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was sampled by Lisa Left-Eye Lopes on Head to the Sky on her 2001 album Supernova. As well by Jay Z on his 1994 track "Reach the Top". Along with Guru featuring Amel Larrieux on "Guidance" from his 2000 album Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul . The song was also sampled by Kirk Franklin on "Keep Your Head" from his 2005 album Hero and by DMX on "Head Up" from his 2012 album Undisputed . [6]

Keep Your Head To The Sky was interpolated by Mary J. Blige on Keep Your Head off her 1998 live album The Tour. [7]

Chart positions

Chart (1973)Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 52
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles [2] 23

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References

  1. 1 2 Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head To The Sky. Columbia Records. 1973.
  2. 1 2 "Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head to the Sky (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
  3. ↑ Aletti, Vince (August 17, 1973). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Head To The Sky". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
  4. ↑ Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Head To The Sky". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
  5. ↑ "Keep Your Head To The Sky | Earth, Wind & Fire | Recording". www.pfunkportal.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  6. ↑ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head to the Sky". genius.com.
  7. ↑ "Mary J Blige: Keep Your Head". genius.com.


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