| "Keep Your Head to the Sky" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Earth, Wind & Fire | ||||
| from the album Head to the Sky | ||||
| B-side | "Build Your Nest" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 3:25 (single version) 5:00 (album version) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Maurice White | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Wissert | |||
| Earth, Wind & Fire singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" is a song recorded by American R&B band Earth, Wind & Fire for their 1973 album, Head to the Sky. It was released as a single by Columbia Records,[1] peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[2]
Overview[edit]
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was written by Maurice White and produced by Joe Wissert. The single's b-side was a tune called "Build Your Nest". Both songs came from Earth, Wind & Fire's 1973 studio album Head to the Sky.[1]
Critical reception[edit]
Vince Aletti of Rolling Stone proclaimed that Keep Your Head to the Sky "with the gentle admonition to keep your head in faith’s atmosphere, has a luscious, luminous quality".[3] Alex Henderson of Allmusic also called the tune "hauntingly pretty".[4]
Personnel[edit]
- Producer: Joe Wissert
- Composer: Maurice White
- Saxophone: Andrew Woolfolk
- Percussion: Johnny Graham, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson, Philip Bailey & Al McKay
- Guitar: Johnny Graham & Al McKay
- Kalimba: Maurice White
- Organ, Piano: Larry Dunn
- Vocals: Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Maurice White & Jessica Cleaves
- Sitar: Al McKay
- Engineer: Robert Appere
- Drums: Ralph Johnson & Maurice White
- Congas: Philip Bailey
- Clarinet: Larry Dunn
- Bass Guitar: Verdine White
Samples[edit]
"Keep Your Head to the Sky" was sampled by Lisa Left-Eye Lopes on Head to the Sky on her 2001 album Supernova, Jay Z on his 1994 track "Reach the Top" and by Guru featuring Amel Larrieux on "Guidance" off his 2000 album Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 3: Streetsoul. The song was also sampled by Kirk Franklin on "Keep Your Head" from his 2005 album Hero and by DMX on "Head Up" from his 2012 album Undisputed.[6]
Keep Your Head To The Sky was interpolated by Mary J. Blige on Keep Your Head off her 1998 live album The Tour.[7]
The song's titular lyric is alluded to in Raphael Saadiq's 2008 song "Sometimes", from The Way I See It.[8]
Chart positions[edit]
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 52 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles[2] | 23 |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head To The Sky. Columbia Records. 1973.
- ^ a b "Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head to the Sky (Hot Soul Songs)". billboard.com.
- ^ Aletti,Vince (August 17, 1973). "Earth, Wind & Fire: Head To The Sky". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
- ^ Henderson, Alex. "Earth, Wind & Fire: Head To The Sky". allmusic.com. Allmusic.
- ^ "Keep Your Head To The Sky | Earth, Wind & Fire | Recording". www.pfunkportal.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ "Earth, Wind & Fire: Keep Your Head to the Sky". genius.com.
- ^ "Mary J Blige: Keep Your Head". genius.com.
- ^ Candace L. (May 2, 2008). "Raphael Saadiq's New Album: Throwback To That 60s Soul". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
