Song · James Bay
“Hold Back the River” by James Bay
From the album Chaos and the Calm (2014)
“Hold Back the River” by James Bay appears on 7 radio countdowns from 7 stations in 2015. It was first released in 2014 on the album Chaos and the Calm. Its best result is #16 on the Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2015. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #82 alternative song of 2015.
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James Bay's "Hold Back the River" came out on Republic late in 2014 as the title track of an EP, and it also appears on his album Chaos and the Calm. The English singer-songwriter wrote it with Iain Archer, an Ivor Novello award winner, and Jacquire King produced, with Michael Brauer handling the mix.
It's a lean, rootsy folk-rock surge that sounds built for a crowd singing along. Bay plays guitar and stacks his own backing harmonies under the lead vocal, Eli Beaird holds down the bass, and Ian Fitchuk covers drums, keys and percussion by himself. The payoff was real: a number-two peak on the UK Singles Chart and a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song, and the song turned up in the film The Space Between Us.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 85 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2015 | 103 |
| 2015 | 29 | The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC | The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2015 | 99 |
| 2015 | 28 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2015 | 50 |
| 2015 | 16 | Lightning 100 Nashville, TN | Lightning 100 Top 100 Songs of 2015 | 100 |
| 2015 | 29 | WRNR 103.1 Annapolis, MD | WRNR Top 103.1 Songs of 2015 | 104 |
| 2015 | 19 | 92.3 WTTS Indianapolis-Bloomington, IN | WTTS Top 50 Songs of 2015 | 50 |
| 2015 | 23 | 107.1 The Peak Westchester County, NY | WXPK Top 107 Songs of 2015 | 107 |
Also listed as: Hold Back The River.
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