Winfrey sang the iconic line that fans surely will never forget, “I think I’m gonna run on,” to which Palmer cheered, before jokingly adding, “You got to give them a little slave hymn sometimes.”
After the pair laughed, the 72-year-old explained why the song was not a hit. After all, “Run On” was only featured on one season of Winfrey’s 25-season run of her talk show.
“We realized, I can’t sing,” she told Palmer, “even though I took the singing lessons.”
While the One of Them Days actress emphasized that the song “wasn’t bad,” Winfrey playfully pushed back, “You know it was bad. You’re just saying that ’cause you’re looking at me. It was pretty bad.”
The TV personality added that although they brought in a church choir into the recording as backup vocals to make it better, “it didn’t work.”
Winfrey may not be a fan of “Run On,” but its legacy continues to live on with many fans, including one of the theme song’s known mega fans: the late Whitney Houston, who created a viral moment when she appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1999 and started singing “Run On” in response to Winfrey asking her to name her “favorite” song.