music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by American R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album McFadden & Whitehead. They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen.[1] McFadden & Whitehead would revisit the song in their 1984 single "Ain't No Stoppin' (Ain't No Way)".

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"
Side A of the US 12-inch single
Single by McFadden & Whitehead
from the album McFadden & Whitehead
B-side	"I Got the Love"
Released	April 1979
Recorded	1978
Studio	Sigma Sound Studios (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Genre	Funk, disco
Length	7:02 (album version) 3:38 (single edit) 10:45 (12" version)
Label	Philadelphia International
Songwriter(s)	Jerry Cohen, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead
Producer(s)	Jerry Cohen, Gene McFadden, John Whitehead
McFadden & Whitehead singles chronology
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" (1979) "I've Been Pushed Aside" (1979)
Audio
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" on YouTube

Background

"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is about succeeding despite having faced previous disadvantages ("so many things that held us down"). It was widely interpreted to be about the experience of the African American community, and after attaining popularity, became referred to as "the new black national anthem"[2] (the original being the 1900 song "Lift Every Voice and Sing").

Kelefa Sanneh noted the song was, "an exuberant number often interpreted as an expression of Black pride", but also that the authors of the song were in a dispute over royalties with their record label Philadelphia International. Whitehead said, "If anything, the song was a declaration of our independence from Gamble."[3]

Production

Despite being seen as social commentary, in an interview conducted by Philadelphia video producer Bob Lott, John and Gene revealed that the song was actually about their frustration with Philadelphia International Records owners Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who for many years preferred that they remain as house songwriters and not performers. Gamble has confirmed that upon first hearing "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", he tried unsuccessfully to convince McFadden and Whitehead to give the song to the O'Jays, as he felt it was better to write and produce for the prominent recording artists of the day than to try to compete with them as on-stage performers.[4]

This song features a female Chorus in the repeated refrain. Electronic Beeping feedback sounds are heard towards the ending of the longer version of the song.

Chart performance

Released as the lead single from the album, the song spent a week at number one on the R&B singles chart. It also proved to be a successful crossover hit, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] The single also made it to number 10 on the disco charts,[6] and reached number 5 in the UK. It eventually went double platinum, selling over 2 million copies.

Notable cover versions

• Luther Vandross did a cover version of this song for his 1994 cover album Songs.[16] His version of the song was also performed as a duet with British girl group the Spice Girls for their An Audience With... special on the UK's ITV in 1997, and later appeared as a B-Side to their single "Stop".
• Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson of the B-52's recorded the song for the 1996 soundtrack The Associate.[17]

Soundtrack appearances

The song was featured in the 1997 movie Boogie Nights and the 2016 movie Bridget Jones's Baby, along with their accompanying soundtrack albums.

Other appearances

• The song served as the 1980 theme song for the Philadelphia Phillies, 1980-81 Philadelphia Eagles and 2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers. (McFadden and Whitehead sung a Phillies, Eagles and Sixers version of "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". For example, the line in the chorus would instead mention the team: "Ain't no stoppin' us now, the Phillies got the groove").
• Following the 1992 Coup in Sierra Leone, the new government headed by Valentine Strasser attempted to replace the Sierra Leonean national anthem with this song.[18]

• David Haye walked out to the song in his much anticipated rematch with Tony Bellew.

References

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