Keep On Pushing


Keep On Pushing is a studio album by the Impressions, released on ABC-Paramount in 1964. The album reached number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 4 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The title track, "Keep On Pushing," reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Production

"Amen" was an African-American spiritual arranged and sung by Jester Hairston for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field, starring Sidney Poitier. Curtis Mayfield had been inspired by the film and the song "Amen" in particular: "Of course, I'd decided to do a version of it. We put it together in the studio starting off with a musical 'swing low sweet chariot', and then we fell into that particular song with somewhat of a marching rhythm."
The album cover has a photograph taken by Don Bronstein of the group pushing Mayfield's Jaguar E-Type.

Critical reception

John Bush of AllMusic gave the album 4 stars out of 5, describing it as "an excellent introduction for pop audiences just waking up to the inspirational power of soul music's finest group." He said, "the album featured all the hallmarks of an Impressions set: impeccably smooth harmonies, the dynamic horn charts of Johnny Pate, and many more of Mayfield's irresistible songs."
Keep On Pushing was one of those displayed on the cover of Bob Dylan's 1965 album, Bringing It All Back Home. Bob Marley included "Amen" and "I Made a Mistake" as part of the regular set list of the Wailers.
In 2017, Pitchfork placed it at number 167 on the "200 Best Albums of the 1960s" list. Evan Minsker said, "Every song is crafted just as beautifully as the title track, with Pate's expert arrangements backing the trio's earworm harmonies."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.