123 Victory

Album: Losing My Religion (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This gospel jam was originally recorded for Kirk Franklin's Losing My Religion album. It features a bubbling bassline from session musician Braylon Lacy, who has also worked with Erykah Badu and Toni Braxton.
  • Franklin recruited his longtime friend Pharrell Williams for a fresh version of the track. "The song was already on my album and when I thought about doing a remix, Pharrell was like, 'You know what? Why don't we just start from the beginning? You know, do something fresh from the beginning,'" said Franklin.

    "So, he had a track that he showed me he was working on," he added. "And I really liked the track. So, what I did is I ran to the next studio room, sat down with a piano and just wrote the song."
  • The remix was penned by the pair in May 2016, inspired by the police shootings and civil unrest in America that was going on. It was released as a single on August 19, 2016. "When all of the tragedy that's been going on over the last six, twelve weeks, with just the shootings, killings and the unrest, [I] thought that it'd be a good time to release a song," explained Franklin.

    "'Cause we did the song back in May and we've been talking for a while about doing something and finally did it," he added. "And kind of sat on it, not really knowing what we're gonna do and then when everything hit, it's like, you know what, maybe this would be a good time to release it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Michael Bolton

Michael BoltonSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for this talk with Bolton from the '80s when he was a focused on writing songs for other artists.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)

Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics)Songwriter Interviews

Mike Rutherford talks about the "Silent Running" storyline and "Land Of Confusion" in the age of Trump.

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.