Released 1969 Length 3:17 | Recorded 1968 Label Motown | |
Writer(s) Bert Berns, Jerry Ragovoy, Edwin Starr, Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua "Grits Ain't Grocery"
(1968) "Twenty-Five Miles"
(1968) | ||
"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 Ragovoy, that Berns and Ragovoy were eventually given co-writing credits.
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). It was also a hit in the UK, reaching the Top 40 and peaking at #36. "Twenty-Five Miles" proved to be Starr's biggest US hit after 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.
The Jackson 5 recorded a cover version of "Twenty-Five Miles" in 1969, but it was not heard until its inclusion on the Motown compilation album, The Original Soul of Michael Jackson, in 1987, with Michael Jackson being given sole performer credit for the track. It was not the original recording, however, as it included drum machine overdubs; the original featured a hard-driving drum track by Uriel Jones, one of the Funk Brothers.
Jackson's version of "Twenty-Five Miles" was released as a single in the US to promote The Original Soul of Michael Jackson. The single was backed by the song "Up on the Housetop". The original recording of the song was included on the 2009 set, Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.
Starr's version was popular on the UK's Northern soul scene. A shortened remix of this version was used as the theme song for NFL Network's coverage of the 2011 NFL scouting combine. The song was used by Visa in their 2016 global Olympic campaign film.
The song also shares strong similarities to the theme song for As it Happens Curried Soul by Moe Koffman
Edwin Starr's version appeared in the 2016 Visa Commercial "Carpool - Road to Rio with Team USA Athletes"