Keep On Running
Songfacts®:
- Island Records impresario Chris Blackwell had brought his Jamaican Ska artist Wilfred "Jackie" Edwards over to England and introduced him to the band. Blackwell asked him if he had anything suitable for them to record. He played them a Ska record he had written, "Keep On Running," which Steve Winwood reworked to a more rock sound on the piano. Following Keith Richards' lead-in "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," the band's bass guitarist Muff Winwood used a fuzz guitar.
- Spencer Davis: "No one had seen a picture of the group in America and in 1966, the radio was split into black and white stations. 'Keep On Running' was played on black stations in the States and when they saw a picture of these four shining white boys, the record was dropped from the playlists so the momentum was lost." (quote from 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh)
- This was featured in the films Buster (1988) and Mr. Holland's Opus (1997).
- Edwards also wrote The Spencer Davis Group's follow-up single, "Somebody Help Me."
Comments: 8
- Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn February 27th 1966, "Keep On Running" by the Spencer Davis Group entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #83, and it stayed on the chart for four weeks, peaking at #76...
The quartet had four other Top 100 records; with two of them reaching the Top 10, "Gimme Some Lovin'" at #7 in 1967 and "I'm A Man" at #10, also in 1967. - Macadam from Cagayan De Oro, PhilippinesMuff Winwood didn't use a fuzzbass or a fuzz guitar.
It was Steve Winwood who used a fuzz guitar in the
intro. - Nathan from L-burg, KyWhy Isnt gimme some lovin' listed here
Gimme Some Lovin' more popular in the u.s. than Keep on Running - Mark from Hereford, EnglandThis band were from Birmingham, England. Apart from Mr Davis there were a couple of brothers, Muff and Steve Winwood. Muff ended up as a record producer. Steve was only 15 when he joined the band, and 16 when this was released. The voice was already there. The band were a part of the r&b movement in England at the time, as were the Stones. Steve left to form a curious musical collective, Traffic, a short-lived supergroup with Eric Clapton, Blind Faith, then returned to Traffic before going solo. Check out some of his work, other than what has been sampled by Erik Prydz!
- Teresa from Mechelen, BelgiumA very good group, a very good song, but I prefer "Gimme some loving", that's realy a great song!
- Spencer from Edmonton, CanadaThis is one of my favorite bands, because I was named after them!!!
- Matt Ford from Buffalo, MnFunny how there is such a large gap between the US chart and UK chart.
- Dave from Phoenix, AzWhen Steve Winwood left the Spencer Davis Group in the summer of 1967, one of the rejected applicants to be auditioned was a young piano player named Reginald Dwight, who would later launch a solo career, re-naming himself, Elton John.
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