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Nowhere to Run (song)
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Wikipedia article
"'Nowhere to Run'" is a 1965 pop single by Martha and the Vandellas for the Gordy (Motown) label and is one of the group's signature songs. The song, written and produced by Motown's main production team of HollandDozierHolland, depicts the story of a woman trapped in a bad relationship with a man she cannot help but love.
History
Holland-Dozier-Holland and the Funk Brothers band gave the song a large, hard-driving instrumentation sound similar to the sound of prior "Dancing in the Street" with snow chains used as percussion alongside the tambourine and drums.
'Billboard' described the song as a "good dance beat piece of material which features a gospel piano and a wailin' vocal." 'Cash Box' described it as "a hard-driving, fast-moving, raunchy bluesy stomper with a contagious teen-oriented, danceable beat."
Included on their 1965 third album, 'Dance Party', "Nowhere to Run" hit number eight on the 'Billboard' Pop Singles chart, and number five on the 'Billboard' R&B Singles chart. It also charted in the UK peaking at number twenty-six on the chart. The single release was backed with "Motoring".
This version was ranked #358 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
This song is featured in 'Vinyl', 'Bringing Out the Dead', 'Baby Driver' and the video game 'Spec Ops: The Line'
Covers
*Arnold McCuller made a version of the song for the soundtrack of the movie 'The Warriors' from 1979. It was later utilized again for the video game adaptation in 2005.
* In July 1988, following the success of the film 'Good Morning Vietnam', the song was re-released in the UK by A&M Records, with James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" on the flip side. The single spent three weeks on the UK chart reaching its highest position of number 52 by 24 July 1988.Guinness Book of British Hit Singles, 12th Edition, 1999
*On her 1971 covers album 'Gonna Take a Miracle', singer-songwriter Laura Nyro performed a version with backing vocals by the group Labelle.
Personnel
*Lead vocals by Martha Reeves
*Background vocals by Rosalind Ashford & Betty Kelly
*Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland Jr.
*Produced by Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
*All instrumentation by the Funk Brothers:Liner notes. 'The Complete Motown Singles Vol. 5: 1965', Hip-O Select B0006755-02, August 4, 2006
**Robert White guitar
**Eddie Willis guitar
**Earl Van Dyke piano
**Benny Benjamin drums
**James Jamerson bass guitar
**Jack Ashford percussion, tambourine, vibes
**Ivy Jo Hunter – percussion (snow chains)
**Russ Conway – trumpet
**Herbert Williams – trumpet
**George Bohanon – trombone
**Paul Riser – trombone
**Henry Cosby – tenor saxophone
**Mike Terry – baritone saxophone
Certifications
References
Category:1965 songs
Category:1965 singles
Category:Songs written by HollandDozierHolland
Category:Song recordings produced by Lamont Dozier
Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Holland
Category:Martha and the Vandellas songs
Category:Grand Funk Railroad songs
Category:Gordy Records singles
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