Going Back to My Roots

"Going Back to My Roots" is a 1977 song by Lamont Dozier. A cover version of "Going Back to My Roots" by the British-American band Odyssey was the most successful in music charts in particularly European countries, besides reaching number one in South Africa. Cover versions by FPI Project and Linda Clifford have also entered the UK Singles Chart, with FPI Project's version charting in other European markets as well.

Originally an album track discussing genealogy, the song was written for the African-American market and touches on the matters of self-identity, family, and soul fulfillment. It has appeared on assorted compilation albums.

Background

The song was written and first recorded by Lamont Dozier for his 1977 LP Peddlin' Music on the Side. It was produced by Stewart Levine and features additional production from Hugh Masekela and Rik Pekkonen.[1]

It has widely been seen as covering the same subject matter as the bestselling Alex Haley 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, which moves into Afrobeat and Yoruba chanting. Yet in an interview with Blues & Soul magazine in 1977, Dozier stated otherwise: “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.” [2]

Richie Havens version

An early cover version was recorded by Richie Havens in 1980. Unusually for folk musician Havens, it incorporated disco influences;[3][4] this version was later sampled in FPI Project's version of the song[5] and in "Destiny and Tenacity" on the Kleptones' 2010 album Uptime / Downtime.[6]

Odyssey version
"Going Back to My Roots"
Single by Odyssey
from the album I Got the Melody
B-side"Baba Awa (Roots Suite)"[7]
ReleasedMay 1981
GenreDisco
Length
  • 3:25 (7")
  • 5:25 (12")
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Lamont Dozier
Producer(s)Steve Tyrell
Odyssey singles chronology
"If You're Lookin' for a Way Out"
(1980)		 "Going Back to My Roots"
(1981)		 "It Will Be Alright"
(1981)

New York City disco group Odyssey released a cover version of this song in 1981. It charted at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart, spending six weeks in the top ten, followed by another remaining six weeks on the chart.[8] It also graced the US Billboard R&B Singles chart at No. 68.[9] In South Africa, "Going Back to My Roots" reached #1.[10]

This version of the song appears on the Ashes to Ashes: Series 2 Original Soundtrack[11] and was also danced to by Patsy Palmer and Anton du Beke on the third series of Strictly Come Dancing.[12]

Charts
Chart (1981) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] 14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 14
France (IFOP)[16] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 13
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 4
Norway (VG-lista)[21] 10
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[22] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 2
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 4
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[26] 55
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 68

FPI Project version
"Going Back to My Roots"
Single by FPI Project
from the album Rich in Paradise
A-side"Rich in Paradise"
ReleasedNovember 1989
RecordedGarden Studio, Milan, Italy
GenreItalo house
Songwriter(s)Lamont Dozier
Producer(s)
  • Marco Fratty
  • Corrado Presti
  • Roberto Intrallazzi
  • Luciano Berry
FPI Project singles chronology
"Going Back to My Roots"
(1989)		 "Everybody (All Over the World)"
(1990)

A version was released by FPI Project, a trio consisting of Marco Fratty, Corrado Presti and Roberto Intrallazzi who, according to John Bush of AllMusic introduced Italo house to the world in the early 1990s.[27] Two versions of the song were released; one featuring the vocals of Sharon D. Clarke, the other of Paolo Dini. Both versions sample Richie Havens' version of the song, as well as T99's "Too Nice to Be Real", Honesty 69's "Rich in Paradise", and the Yeah! Woo! loop.[5]

They took the tune first to No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in 1989 whilst backed with "Rich in Paradise", and in 1999 to No. 96 in its own right.[8] It also charted at No. 5 on the German Singles Chart, No. 5 on the Austrian Singles Chart and No. 10 on the Swiss Singles Chart.[28]

The song appears on the compilation album Deep Heat 5 – Feed the Fever.[5]

Original release

Later releases

Charts
Chart (1989–90) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[29] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[30] 36
Germany (Official German Charts)[31] 5
Ireland (IRMA)[32] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[36] 9
Chart (1999) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[36] 96

Linda Clifford version

The song was covered by Linda Clifford in 2002 which charted for a single week at No. 85 on the UK Singles Chart.[8]

References
  1. Hogan, Ed. "Going Back to My Roots". AllMusic.
  2. "Going Back to My Roots — when Lamont Dozier came out of the doldrums". Financial Times. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. "Going Back to His Roots: Richie Havens' 8 most unmissable cover versions". The Vinyl Factory. 29 April 2013.
  4. Going Back to My Roots on YouTube Provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra
  5. Deep Heat 5 – Feed the Fever (Media notes). Telstar Records. 1990.
  6. Uptime / Downtime (Media notes). The Kleptones. 2010.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. "Odyssey - Going Back To My Roots". 45cat.com. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  8. "OFFICIAL SINGLES CHART RESULTS MATCHING: GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS". The Official Charts Company.
  9. "Odyssey | Awards". AllMusic.
  10. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  11. Ashes to Ashes: Series 2 Original Soundtrack (Media notes). Sony Music. 2010.
  12. "Strictly Come Dancing". 3. 12 November 2005.
  13. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  14. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  15. Timo (13 August 2015). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1960: Artistit O". Sisältää hitin. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  16. "InfoDisc : Les Tubes de chaque artiste commençant par O". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  17. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Going Back to Our Roots". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Odyssey" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  20. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots". VG-lista.
  22. "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  23. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots". Singles Top 100.
  24. "Odyssey – Going Back to My Roots". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. "Odyssey: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  26. "Going Back to My Roots (song by Odyssey) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  27. "F.P.I. Project | Biography". AllMusic.
  28. "F.P.I. Project – Songs". Chartsurfer.de.
  29. "F.P.I. Project – Going Back to My Roots" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  30. "F.P.I. Project – Going Back to My Roots" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  31. "F.P.I. Project – Going Back to My Roots" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  32. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Going Back to My Roots". Irish Singles Chart.
  33. "Nederlandse Top 40 – F.P.I. Project" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  34. "F.P.I. Project – Going Back to My Roots" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  35. "F.P.I. Project – Going Back to My Roots". Swiss Singles Chart.
  36. "FPI Project: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
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