Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

From the album McFadden & Whitehead, 1979

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We're on the move!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We've got the groove!

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

But we won't let nothin' hold us back

We're putting our selves together

We're polishing up our act!

If you felt we've been held down before

I know you'll refuse to be held down anymore!

Don't you let nothing, nothing

Stand in your way!

I want ya'll to listen, listen

To every word I say, every word I say!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We're on the move!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We've got the groove!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We're on the move!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We've got the groove!

I know you know someone that has a negative vow

And if you're trying to make it they only push you aside

They really don't have, no where to go

Ask them where they're going, they don't know

But we won't let nothin' hold us back

We're gonna put our selves together

We're gonna polish up our act!

And if you've ever been held down before

I know you'll refuse to be held down anymore!

Don't you let nothing, nothing

Stand in your way!

I want ya'll to listen, listen

To every word I say, every word I say!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We're on the move!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We've got the groove!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We're on the move!

Ain't No Stoppin Us Now!

We've got the groove! 

Writer/s: JERRY ALLEN COHEN, GENE MCFADDEN, JOHN WHITEHEAD
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

 
 

Song Facts

• Gene McFadden and John Whitehead were songwriters and producers at Philadelphia International Records, where they worked on many of the tracks that helped define the Philadelphia Soul sound. In 1972, they wrote the O'Jays hit "Back Stabbers" with Leon Huff, who co-owned the label with Kenny Gamble. Subsequent hits the pair penned include "I'll Always Love My Mama" by The Intruders (1973) and "Bad Luck" by Harold Melvin.
  
  By the late '70s, McFadden and Whitehead were hankering to record their own material, and convinced Gamble and Huff to let them try. Exhilarated by the opportunity, they thought, "ain't no stopping us now!," and wrote this motivational song. It was inspired by their personal experience, but resonated with anyone looking forward to a challenge. The song went to #1 on the R&B charts and also found a home on Top-40 radio. It has aged well, and is still played on a variety of radio station formats.
• McFadden & Whitehead wrote and produced this song with their keyboard player Jerry Cohen. Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, other musicians on the track include guitarists Dennis Harris and Bobby Eli, bass player James Williams, and drummer Keith Benson. The backing vocals were done by the female trio of Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton, who sang on many of the recordings that came out of Sigma. They had various appellations, including The Sweeties, The Philadelphia Angels, and The Girls.
• This was the only hit for McFadden & Whitehead. They released two more albums: I Heard It In A Love Song (1980) and Movin' On (1983).
  
  Whitehead's sons Johnny and Kenny had some success in the '90s as part of an R&B group called the Whitehead Brothers.
• John Whitehead claimed that he made up the lyrics on the spot in the studio, and did his vocal in just one take.
• On May 11, 2004, Whitehead was shot to death while he was working on a vehicle in Philadelphia. He was 55.