Twenty-Five Miles

"Twenty Five Miles"
Side-A label of US vinyl single
Single by Edwin Starr
from the album 25 Miles
B-side"Love Is My Destination"
ReleasedJanuary 2, 1969[1]
Recorded1968
Genre
Length3:17
LabelGordy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Johnny Bristol
  • Harvey Fuqua
Edwin Starr singles chronology
"Grits Ain't Grocery"
(1968) 		"Twenty Five Miles"
(1969) 		"Oh How Happy"
(1969)

"Twenty-Five Miles" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and Edwin Starr for Starr's second album, 25 Miles (1969). The song was considered sufficiently similar to "32 Miles out of Waycross" by Hoagy Lands (also recorded as "Mojo Mama" by both Wilson Pickett and Don Varner), written by Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler,[2][3] that Berns and Wexler were eventually given co-writing credits.[4][5] Essentially the same theme also appeared in late 1959 in the approaching miles section of the lyrics of Jimmie Rodgers' "Tucumcari".[6]

It was Starr's first success following his move from Ric-Tic Records to Motown (as Motown bought out Ric-Tic and all its artists). The song was a huge hit in the US, making the Top Ten on both the Pop Charts (#6) and R&B Charts (#6), #8 in Canada,[7] and peaked at #36 on the UK Singles Chart. "Twenty-Five Miles" proved to be Starr's second-biggest US hit, ranking below his signature song (and #1 smash) "War". His pair of 1979 disco singles would later outdo the song's performance on the UK Charts, as "Contact" and "H.A.P.P.Y. Radio" were both UK Top Ten hits.

Starr's version was popular on the UK's Northern soul scene.[8]

In 1989, Edwin was seen on stage in an appearance of The Cookie Crew's mimed performance on Top Of The Pops - the BBC chart show in the UK, Edwin also miming repeatedly to the lyric "I got to keep on" which was sampled from "Twenty-Five Miles" in the #17 hit "Got To Keep On" of April that year.

  1. ^ "45cat - Edwin Starr - Twenty-Five Miles / Love Is My Destination - Gordy - USA - G-7083". 45cat.com. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ^ Joel Selvin (2014-04-15). Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of ... p. 398. ISBN 9781619023789. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  3. ^ "Songwriter, Producer and Label Chief". Bert Berns. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  4. ^ "Of Curried Soul and Edwin Starr | Toronto Mike's Blog". Torontomike.com. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  5. ^ Browning, Laura M. (22 September 2014). "How far would you travel for love? 14 songs that go the distance · Inventory · The A.V. Club". Avclub.com. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
  6. ^ "Jimmie Rodgers - 'Tucumcari'". Genius Lyrics. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
  7. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 28, 1969" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Northern soul". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2015.