Geno (song)
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| "Geno" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Dexys Midnight Runners | ||||
| from the album Searching for the Young Soul Rebels | ||||
| B-side | "Breakin' Down the Walls of Heartache" | |||
| Released | 14 March 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Late Night Feelings/EMI | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kevin Archer, Kevin Rowland | |||
| Producer(s) | Pete Wingfield | |||
| Dexys Midnight Runners singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Geno" is a song by Dexys Midnight Runners, released in 1980 as the lead single from their debut album Searching for the Young Soul Rebels. Written by Kevin Archer and Kevin Rowland,[2] it was the band's second overall single[3] and their first UK number one, staying at the top of the singles chart for two weeks.[2] In Ireland, the song charted at number two.[citation needed]
The song is a tribute to soul singer Geno Washington, and performed in approximately the style of Geno Washington's Ram Jam Band. Rowland and Archer began working on the song in early 1979, with Rowland writing lyrics to Archer's music.[4]
The song bears resemblance to Zoot Money's Big Roll Band's "One and Only Man" and the Turtles' "Happy Together".[4]
The crowd noises during the "Geno! Geno! Geno!" chant at the beginning and end of the song are sampled from Van Morrison's acclaimed 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, a favourite of Rowland's. The chant is reminiscent of Washington's 1960s performances, whereby the shows' compères would excite the audience before Washington took to the stage.[4] The song's saxophone riff was inspired by Washington's "(I Gotta) Hold On to My Love", the B-side to "Michael (the Lover)".[4]
