I Will Always Rise (1985)

I Will Always Rise (1985)

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About The Artist:
Clarence Ebenezer, born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was not your average 1980s R&B artist. A former elevator technician by day and roller disco enthusiast by night, Clarence always believed in one thing: “What goes down must come back up.” It was a motto that powered both his elevator career and his self-esteem after a series of unfortunate breakdancing injuries.

In 1985, Clarence dropped the powerful single “Rise”. The track became a regional smash and an unexpected motivational anthem for night-shift workers, nursing students, and anyone else who’d ever been kicked out of a Denny’s at 3 a.m. Clarence wrote “Rise” while stuck between the 7th and 8th floors of the Tulsa County Courthouse elevator during his lunch break.Clarence scribbled the chorus over the course of three hours. When the elevator finally jolted back to life, he burst out screaming, “I will always rise!”

Security thought he was having a breakdown. Clarence knew he had a breakthrough. The song’s music video famously featured Clarence ascending on a platform surrounded by fog, fireworks, and backup dancers dressed as malfunctioning elevators. It was campy, over-the-top, and absolutely perfect.

Though Clarence only had a brief moment in the national spotlight, “Rise” lives on in motivational playlists, late-night karaoke, and as the unofficial anthem of the Tulsa Department of Vertical Transportation.