THE HIT HAMMER: Eddie Kendricks' "Keep on Truckin' (Part 1)"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

Eddie Kendricks - "Keep on Truckin' (Part 1)"

Hit Number 1: November 10, 1973

Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks

Eddie Kendricks' falling out with the Temptations was well-publicized. He had recorded the very pleasant ballad "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" with the Temptations, but as great and calm as that song was, there was a lot of drama going on behind the scenes. A lot of that had to do with Kendricks, and it wasn't too shocking that he quit the band for a solo career not too long after all the drama started. On Kendricks' part, it was a bold move. The Temptations were still a popular band, and they were beloved by many people. Kendricks was a recognizable member with his falsetto voice, but there was no telling how well a solo career was going to turn out for him. Well, if "Keep on Truckin'" was any indication, it was going to be a fine one, as he was the only solo Temptation to ever hit #1.

After Kendricks left the Temptations, some beef followed. The Temptations released a song that only existed as a jab towards Kendricks with "Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are)", which was a top-20 hit, peaking at #18. (It's an 8) On some level, "Keep on Truckin'" was an answer song to the Temptations drama and "Superstar", especially with the lyric "In old Temptations' rain, I'm duckin'/For your love through sleet or snow, I'm truckin'". Really though, "Keep on Truckin'" only exists as a dance song. With the ever-growing popularity of dance music in the '70s, "Keep on Truckin'" capitalized on that. The song isn't about anything really, unless you interpret it as being a sort of "life goes on" mentality by Kendricks. The only thing that propelled 'Keep on Truckin'" to #1 is the groove it has.

Kendricks believed the reason for the song's success was simply the title, and that it was likely embraced by the trucking industry. While sure, that may have had something to do with it, he's not giving enough credit to his own song's grooves. "Keep on Truckin'" only exists to make its listeners move, and after listening to it, I think it's safe to say it's pretty hard not to. It's a funk machine of a song, with a vibrating bass line, blaring horns that sound like an alarm from a funk paradise and guitar licks that sound like they'd come from a Stevie Wonder song. In fact, "Keep on Truckin"" could best be described as a Stevie Wonder knock-off. While "Keep on Truckin'" doesn't quite annihilate my brain cells like, say, "Superstition", it's still a good, quality funk song. There's really not much else to say about the song, cause for some reason, you never hear it anywhere today. Before I got interested in #1 hits, I'd never heard this song. I was missing out.

Eddie Kendricks couldn't come up with anything else that was as successful as "Keep on Truckin'", but he had the last laugh as far as his Temptations beef goes. The Temptations' popularity dropped dramatically after Kendricks and former bandmate David Ruffin left, and Kendricks topped the charts while the Temptations were losing their popularity. Kendricks always seemed to me like a nice, easy-going dude, so I'm happy to see things play out for him like that. Unfortunately, he's no longer with us today, as he died way too young at the age of 52 in 1992. I like to think he had no more worries throughout his life, and just kept on truckin' all the way to the day he died.

GRADE: 8/10

10 ALERT!!!:

Jim Croce's matter-of-fact personal triumph "I Got a Name" peaked at #10 behind "Keep on Truckin'". It moves me down the highway, and rolls me down the highway. It's a 10.