Keep On Running

"Keep On Running" is a song written and originally recorded by Jackie Edwards, which became a number one hit in the UK when recorded by The Spencer Davis Group.

Recordings

"Keep On Running" was written by Jamaican singer-songwriter Jackie Edwards, who as well as having a successful singing career, was working in the UK for Island Records as a songwriter. The song was recorded by Edwards for his 1965 album Come on Home, and he recorded it again in the mid-1970s for his Do You Believe In Love album.

It was also a UK hit for John Alford in 1996, released as a double A-side with "If", and peaking at number 24.

"Keep On Running" has also been recorded by several other artists including Robben Ford (as the title track of his 2003 album), and The Romantics (on Live on Stage).

The Spencer Davis Group version

The song was most successfully recorded by The Spencer Davis Group and released as a single in November 1965 on Fontana Records, backed with "High Time Baby". At the time, Chris Blackwell, who produced the recording, was trying to get his Island label established in the UK and was managing the Spencer Davis Group. He was lent funding from Scala Brown Associates for the single by offering a sizable share of his label as security; The success of the single meant that he was quickly able to repay the loan. It was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart in January 1966. In the United States it reached number 76.

Keep On

Keep On is the third album from original Pop Idol winner Will Young. The album was released on 21 November 2005, debuting at number 2 on the albums chart in the United Kingdom, as the album sold 107,318 copies in its first week. However, its biggest sales were 132,109, in its fifth week when the album placed at number 13. This is also his first album not to go number 1. It is, however, his second best-selling album, with sales of almost 1.01 million.

Keep On was released in two formats, CD and DualDisc. The Dual Disc contains the audio tracks on one side, and DVD content on the other, containing 25 minutes of exclusive footage.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Charts

References

The Spencer Davis Group

The Spencer Davis Group are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1963, by Spencer Davis with Steve Winwood and his brother, Muff Winwood. Their best known songs include "Somebody Help Me", the UK number one "Keep on Running" (both of which were written by reggae musician Jackie Edwards), "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'", which peaked at #2 in the UK and #7 in the United States.

Steve Winwood left in 1967 to form Traffic before joining Blind Faith, then forging a career as a solo artist. After releasing a few more singles, the band ceased activity in 1968. They briefly reunited from 1973 to 1974, and Davis has since restarted a new group in 2006.

History

Formation

The Spencer Davis Group was formed in 1963 in Birmingham when Welsh guitarist Spencer Davis recruited vocalist and organist Steve Winwood, and his bass playing brother, Muff Winwood. The group was completed with Pete York on drums. Originally called the Rhythm and Blues Quartette, the band performed regularly in the city. In 1964 they signed their first recording contract after Chris Blackwell of Island Records saw them at an appearance in a local club; Blackwell also became their producer. (Island was at that time a small label, so Blackwell got them on UK Fontana for distribution.) Muff Winwood came up with the band's name, reasoning "Spencer was the only one who enjoyed doing interviews, so I pointed out that if we called it the Spencer Davis Group, the rest of us could stay in bed and let him do them."

Spencer Davis

Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies, 17 July 1939) is a Welsh musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band The Spencer Davis Group. Davis dropped the E in Davies and became Davis because in England and in the US his last name was pronounced "Daveys" and not Davis as in the Welsh pronunciation.

Early life

Davis was born in Swansea, in south Wales. His father served as a paratrooper. Influenced by his Uncle Herman's mandolin playing, Spencer Davis began learning to play harmonica and accordion at the age of six. He then attended Dynevor School, where he passed seven GCE O-level examinations. He moved to London when he was sixteen, and began working in the civil service as a clerical officer at the Post Office Savings Bank in Hammersmith and for HM Customs and Excise; but went back to his old school to study for A-levels in languages, becoming Head Boy in 1959. In 1960 he moved to Birmingham, to read German at the University of Birmingham. In music circles, Davis was later known as "Professor".

Milli Vanilli

Milli Vanilli was a West German-based R&B, pop and dance music project created by Frank Farian in Munich in 1988. The group was formed with Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The group's debut album Girl You Know It's True achieved international success and earned them a Grammy Award for Best New Artist on 21 February 1990. Milli Vanilli became one of the most popular pop acts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their success turned to infamy when the Grammy award was withdrawn after Morvan, Pilatus and their agent Sergio Vendero confessed that Morvan and Pilatus did not actually sing any of the vocals heard on the record. The group recorded a comeback album in 1998, but Rob Pilatus died before the album was released.

Beginnings

According to VH1's Behind the Music, the single "Girl You Know It's True" was first produced by Jesse Powell and had already been completed before Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were recruited. Frank Farian felt that no efforts should be focused on refining Pilatus and Morvan's voices. Farian added his own studio-augmented voice to recordings, using back-up singers to hide the other two members' voices live.