"Promised Land" is a 1987 single by American producer and DJ

Joe Smooth Joseph Lorenzo Jr. Welbon (born May 9, 1964), known by the stage name Joe Smooth, is an American house music producer and DJ who gained international acclaim during the late 1980s and early 1990s. By the new millennium he held the reputation of ...

, featuring Anthony Thomas and is one of the most widely acclaimed

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

classics.

Background and release

Smooth got the idea for "Promised Land" while he was on tour in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

with

Farley "Jackmaster" Funk Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (born Farley Keith Williams; January 25, 1962) is an American musician, DJ and record producer of Chicago house and acid house music. He is notable for writing and producing a number of highly influential tracks in th ...

. He saw how well

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

was received in Europe and wrote "Promised Land" with inspiration from classic Motown songs. He was determined to write a classic song with the same type of spirit. Smooth gained international acclaim with the release of the track. It spoke of how humans, as brothers and sisters, should unite in love and thrive in paradise. Dance music was very popular in the underground culture in Chicago at that time and "Promised Land" became a big club-hit. Originally released in 1987, it peaked at #56 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in February 1989 following the Top 40 success of a cover version by

The Style Council The Style Council were a British musical ensemble, band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/New wave music, new wave/mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previousl ...

. It has been covered several times since its release. In October 2004, "Promised Land" appeared in the

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. Within the game, the song could be heard playing on the fictional

House Music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

radio station

SF-UR '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an open-world, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. First released on 16 October 2004 for the PlayStation 2, ''San Andreas'' has an in-game radio that can t ...

Impact and legacy

In 1995, British DJ

Graham Gold Graham Gold (born 5 July 1954) is a British DJ. Gold is primarily known as a DJ whose sets were broadcast live Friday nights on Kiss and distributed on the Universal Music TV label. These weekly live broadcasts were considered revolutionary in ...

picked "Promised Land" as one of his favourite songs, saying, "I got it in '89 when I wasn't known for playing

. It's one of those wicked emotional records where the lyrical and musical content is so uplifting that you never get tired of hearing it." Also British

hardhouse UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

and

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...

record producer

Jon the Dentist John Vaughan (born 2 October 1965), known professionally as Jon the Dentist, is a British hardhouse and trance music record producer. He released many popular singles including "Feel So Good" and "Imagination" with Ollie Jaye, both of which reached ...

chose it as one of his favourites same year, adding, "It's got uplifting vocals. I hate singing but I'm always singing along when I play it. I'm sure people are thinking, who's that prat in the DJ box. It's what deep house should be all about." In 1996, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' ranked the song number 20 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time" list, adding, "There's Someday and

Strings of Life "Strings of Life" is a 1987 song by American electronic musician Derrick May, in collaboration with Michael James, and released under the name Rhythim Is Rhythim. It is his most well-known song and considered a classic in both the house music a ...

and Chime and Keep On Moving, but the one record that, for me, sums up the excitement of that period of music more than any other is the incredible spiritual burst of optimism that is Joe Smooth's Promised Land." In 1998, ''

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

'' ranked it number 4 in their list of "Top 100 Club Tunes". In 2018, ''Mixmag'' listed it as one of "The 30 best vocal house anthems ever".

Track listing

; 12", US (1987) #"Promised Land" (Club Mix) #"Promised Land" (Underground Mix) #"Promised Land" (Radio Mix) ; 7" single, UK (1988) #"Promised Land" (Radio Mix) #"Promised Land" (Underground Mix) ; 12", West Germany (1988) #"Promised Land" (Club Mix) – 5:07 #"Promised Land" (Underground Mix) – 4:10 #"Promised Land" (Freestyle Mix) – 5:07 ; 12" single, UK (1988) #"Promised Land" (Club Mix) – 5:08 #"Promised Land" (Underground Mix) – 4:11 #"Promised Land" (Freestyle Mix) – 5:10

Charts

Cover versions, samples and remixes

released a cover of the song in 1989. Along with the track, "Can You Still Love Me", "Promised Land" was the group's only entry on the US dance chart, where it peaked at number nineteen.

References

{{The Style Council 1987 songs 1987 debut singles 1989 singles Deep house songs The Style Council songs