THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

414-FPI Project-Going Back to My Roots/Rich in Paradise.

1989-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 1.21. ‘Put your hands up in the air.’ (It’s an old saying.)

The FPI Project are the trio of Italian Dance music producers Marco Fratty, Corrado Presti, and Roberto Intrallazzi, as you can probably work out for yourself they took their stage name from the first initial of each of their surnames. The FPI Project were formed in Milan, Italy, in 1989, and have been releasing new music, and remixes ever since. The trio are considered to be one of the main forces in the development of the musical genre ‘Italian House,’ (see also best songs 895) with it’s use of predominantly electronic piano chords. This track remains their only UK top 40 hit to date, but they have charted on three further occasions in the 1990’s in the top 100.

The FPI Project released two versions of this song, one features the vocals of the English singer Sharon D. Clarke, (see also best songs 787) with spoken lyrics by Paolo Dini. The other is mainly instrumental, with just the vocals of Dini, both versions are highly recommended, but for clarity I have chosen the vocal version. Like many a good tune ‘Going Back to My Roots/Rich in Paradise’ contains many samples, including the 1989 Dance track ‘Too Nice to Be Real’ by the Belgium group ‘T99.’ The Dutch Dance music producers ‘Honesty 69’s’ (see also best songs 922) 1990 track called ‘Rich in Paradise’ is also heavily sampled.Throughout the track you hear ‘Yeah! Woo!’ which is Bobby Byrd (1934-2007) (see also best songs 561) saying ‘Yeah,’ and James Brown (1933-2006) (see also best songs 880-349-270 and 88) replying ‘Woo,’ this was taken from the 1972 James Brown penned song ‘Think (About It’) performed by Lyn Collins,(1948-2005) and is one of the most sampled sounds in music history, appearing on many Dance tracks.

The original version of ‘Going Back to My Roots’ was written by the legendary singer, songwriter and music producer Lamont Dozier, (1941-2022) (see also best songs 969-823-650-553-212 and 148) and first appeared on his fifth solo studio Album ‘Peddlin’ Music on the Side,’ from 1977. In 1980 the American singer Richie Havens (1941-2013) covered ‘Going Back to My Roots,’ incorporating ‘Disco’ influences, it was this version rather than the Lamont Dozier one that the ‘FPI Project’ were influenced by. The most commercially successful recording of ‘Going Back to My Roots’ came in 1981, when the New York City ‘Disco’ group Odyssey released a ‘Disco’ version, which reached Number 4 in the UK, and Number 1 in South Africa. In 2002 the American singer Linda Clifford took her 10 minutes ‘Disco’ version to Number 85 in the UK for a single week.

The female vocals on the ‘FPI Project’s’ version of ‘Going Back to My Roots/Rich in Paradise’ were provided by Sharon Delores Clarke MBE, (see also best songs 787) who was born on August 12th, 1966, in Enfield, London, England, she is an actress and a singer. Sharon Clarke is a critically acclaimed actress, having won three ‘Laurence Olivier Awards,’ including for ‘Best Actress in a Musical,’ for her role as Caroline Thibodeaux in the 2018 West End production of ‘Caroline, or Change,’ a role she reprised on Broadway in 2021, earning her both ‘Tony’ and ‘Grammy Award’ nominations. In the UK she is best known for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama ‘Holby City,’ and as Grace O’Brien in ‘Doctor Who.’ Sharon Clarke has appeared on three UK top 40 singles, the ‘FPI Project’s’ ‘Going Back to My Roots/Rich in Paradise,’ (1989-Number 9) Nomad, (‘I Wanna Give You) Devotion’) (1990-Number 2) (see also best songs 787) and Nomad, ‘Just a Groove’ (1991-Number 16.) Sharon Clarke was appointed ‘Member of the Order of the British Empire’ (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Lamont Dozier wrote the lyrics to ‘Going Back to My Roots,’ which deal with self identity, family, and soul fulfilment. It has widely been seen as covering the same subject matter as the bestselling Alex Haley (1921-1992) novel ‘Roots’ that depicts a modern day African-American tracing his ancestry back, via the slave trade, to a village in The Gambia. This is supported by the extended final section in the Lamont Dozier recording which moves into ‘Afrobeat’ and ‘Yoruba’ chanting. Lamont Dozier has explained what the song is about, ‘The song was inspired by the fact that I have my ‘roots’ in Detroit and when I moved to Los Angeles, a few years ago, I found myself taking trips to Detroit to see my family and so on.’

‘Hey You, hey you don’t be silly. Put a condom on your willy. Rich in paradise.’