THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

258-McFadden & Whitehead-Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.

1979-Number 5 single.

Best Bit-At 1.42. Their stage name may sound like a firm of accountants but they were actually one of the top song writing partnerships at Philiadelphia International Records.
Gene McFadden was born on January 28th, 1949, in Olanto, South Carolina, United States, he died from liver and lung cancer on January 27th, 2006, one day short of his 57th birthday. John Whitehead was born on July 10th, 1948, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, he died on May 11th, 2004, at the age of 55. Whitehead was fatally shot, possibly in a case of mistaken identity. While fixing a car outside his home in Philadelphia, he was approached by two gunmen who fired multiple shots, then fled the scene, the murder remains unsolved.

McFadden & Whitehead first met each other at school in the 1960’s in Philadelphia, where they formed a group called ‘The Epsilons’ which included future Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes member Lloyd Parks (see also best songs 725.) When Otis Redding (see also best songs 712 and 377) came to Philadelphia, The Epsilons were invited to go on tour with him, which led to them signing to ‘Stax Records’ and releasing a single in 1970 called ‘The Echo.’ After the departure of Lloyd Parks, McFadden & Whitehead changed their name to ‘Talk of the Town,’ and began working with the legendary duo Kenny Gambol and Leon Huff (see also best songs 1001-896-725-648-604 and 322) at Philadelphia Records. Gamble and Huff soon realised their potential as songwriters, and the pair went on to co-write or co-produce for artists of the calibre of The Jacksons, and Archie Bell & The Drells. Their biggest success prior to this song came when they penned ‘Back Stabbers’ for the ‘O’Jays,’ which reached Number 3 in 1972 on the Billboard Hot 100. As McFadden & Whitehead the duo released three studio Albums between 1979-1982, and seven singles between 1979-1984, with ‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ being their only chart hit, reaching Number 13 on Billboard, and Number 5 in the UK.

‘Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now’ was written and produced by McFadden & Whitehead, along with their long time collaborator Jerry Cohen, who also played the keyboards on the song.The songs subject is about succeeding despite having faced previous disadvantages. Kenny Gamble didn’t want McFadden & Whitehead to record the track as he figured that the song had far more chance of being a hit if it was recorded by the O’Jays, which frustrated the duo. John Whitehead has said about the song,’If anything the song was a declaration of our independence from Gamble.’

Because of the songs lyrics it was soon adopted by the African/American community, and has been referred to as ‘The new black national anthem,’ and is often performed at major political and sporting events, replacing the 1900 written song ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’

‘There’s been so many things that’s held us down, but now it looks like things are finally comin’ around. I know we’ve got a long long way to go, and where we’ll end up I don’t Know.’