"Ain't No Stoppin Us Now" by McFadden & Whitehead

Song 43:

"Ain't No Stoppin Us Now" by McFadden & Whitehead

Peak: 13

Year: 1979

Year end position: 65

Alphabetical Songs by Artist: 1/1

Chronological Songs by Artist: 1/1

Video?: No

Wikipedia?:  Yes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain't_No_Stoppin'_Us_Now

Spotify?:  Yes

Lyrics:  http://www.songlyrics.com/mcfadden/ain-t-no-stoppin-us-now-lyrics/

We are 8 songs deep in the trek through the “Ain’t” songs, and we are to the third straight song that uses the double negative “Ain’t No…”.  I think we all just better get used to it because as of right now there is a week’s worth of songs that use this convention.  If we are re-writing this title, it should really be called “Isn’t Any Stopping Us Now”.  I think it’s pretty safe to say that “Ain’t No” is roughly synonymous with “Isn’t Any”.  I just did a search and there isn’t a single song that uses the words “Isn’t Any” in a title that has ever hit the top 20.  Looks like grammar and songwriting don’t necessarily intersect too often.

Today’s song is the only song we will get to hear from McFadden and Whitehead as a group.  I probably should have to mention that McFadden & Whitehead are the real names of Gene McFadden and John Whitehead.  I say that I shouldn’t have to mention this because if you are going to make up a name, I’m not sure that you would choose this one.  It runs counter to my theory that all names and song titles are getting shorter.

Despite the fact that this will be the only song from McFadden & Whitehead we will hear from as a group, we will get to hear their handiwork later in the blog.  They have 4 other songs on the blog that they wrote for other acts.  The biggest of those hits is “Back Stabbers” by the O’Jays.  In this way, they seem to be similar to Ashford & Simpson in that most of their career was as songwriters, but they broke through to have exactly one top 20 hit.

This song definitely has a positive slant to it.  The lyrics are very forward looking, and aspirational.  When this song came out in 1979, and because of the message of the song, it was widely thought to be a song about the African American community.  That’s a great story, and I will discuss a little later the people and places that use this song, but that wasn’t the driving force by the duo to write this song.  The song was written as a response to the pushback that they were getting from their record label.  McFadden and Whitehead had it in their minds that they wanted to be more than just songwriters.  They also wanted to be performers.  The executives at the Philadelphia International record label weren’t on the same page, and actually suggested that they give this song to the O’Jays.  Who knows what would have happened if the O’Jays had recorded it, but in the end, McFadden & Whitehead got what they wanted and turned it into their only top 20 hit.

As I mentioned, the lyrics of the song are incredibly positive.  The first verse outlines an undefined set of obstacles that have been overcome.  The first line in the song sets this up:  “There's been so many things that held us down / But now it looks like things are finally coming around”.  There seems to be nothing but positive affirmations throughout the whole verse:  “I know you refuse to be held down any more” and “Don't you let nothing, nothing / Stand in your way”.

The second verse is similar to the first in structure.  The first 4 lines aren’t about some nebulous thing that was holding us down, but about a specific toxic person that keeps you from meeting your goals.  The last 8 lines of the second verse are the same as they are in the first verse.

Because of the message of the song, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that this song has been adopted in a lot of places.  For example, a lot of sports teams have used the song after wins (primarily Philadelphia teams, but also the Detroit Red Wings).  Several boxers have used this as their ring music.  Finally, Barack Obama used this song during the 2008 Democratic convention.  The message is one of hope and determination, so it’s a natural fit for these venues.  I like it.  There aren’t always a lot of these types of songs that come around, which might explain why people still use it some 25 years after it was popular.  The message is universal.  Everyone has had to overcome something in their life.  It’s good to remember that feeling from time to time, and this song can bring you to that place.