You Keep Me Hangin' On
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | |
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| Song |
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a 1966 hit song originally recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland,and was the number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from November 13 to November 26 1966.
The song is one of the more oft-remade songs in the Supremes canon: Wilson Pickett, Rod Stewart, Madness, Melanie Safka, and Reba McEntire have all recorded versions of the song, but the two most successful remakes were recorded by the late-1960s rock band Vanilla Fudge and 1980s pop singer Kim Wilde.
Original recording
While its immediate predecessor, "You Can't Hurry Love", showcased a gospel music feel, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" leans more towards a rock music feel. Songwriter Lamont Dozier got his inspiration for the song's Morse code-like guitar line from listening to the "news flash" signal over the radio, and he and brothers Brian and Eddie Holland integrated the idea into a song. The song's lyrics feature Diana Ross berating her lover for stringing her along, stating that "you don't really love me/you just keep me hangin' on."
Many of the elements of the song, including the guitars, the drums, and Ross's lead vocal, were multitracked (the parts were recorded multiple times and the takes layered over one another) to create a stronger, fuller sound than the previous Supremes records.
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the first single from the Supremes' 1967 album The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Cover versions
Vanilla Fudge's 1967 psychedelic/hard rock remake of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" reached number six on the U.S. pop chart two years after the release of the Supremes' recording. While the version released on 45 RPM single was under three minutes long, the album version was extended to six minutes and forty-five seconds. This was Vanilla Fudge's first single, and it was recorded in one take. [1]
Tim Buckley recorded a live version of the song on the album "Dream Letter Live in London 1968".
Studio One reggae recording artist Ken Boothe also released a cover of the song in 1974, which was recently re-released on the Studio One Soul compilation.
In 1977, Rod Stewart covered the song on his album "Foot Loose & Fancy Free".
Kim Wilde's version was covered by Madness in 2005 for their cover album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1.
And in 2007 the British producer/artist Mark Ronson used some of the lyrics in his song "Stop me". Mark Ronson's single "Stop me" was primarily a cover of The Smiths "Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before", adding The Supremes chorous lyrics toward the end of the cover.
On American Idol, whenever 'You Keep Me Hangin' On' was sang by a top 12 contestant, it was considered a 'curse' for them to be sent home the night after the song was sung. However, in 2007's 6th season, Idol runner-up Blake Lewis delivered it and was rumored to have 'broken the song's curse'.
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Loving You" |
Kim Wilde version
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was given an update in 1986 by British singer Kim Wilde. It was the second single from her Another Step album (the first worldwide single, as the first actual single had only been released in selected countries). Wilde's version was a total re-working of the original, completely transforming the Supremes' Motown sound into a 1980s powerpop song. She and her producer brother Ricki Wilde had not heard the song for several years when they decided to record it and was not a song they knew well, so treated it as a new song, even slightly changing the original lyrics. It became the biggest hit of Wilde's career, reaching Number Two in her home country as well as going to Number One in some nations and Top 10 in others. In 1987 it was released as a single in the US where it became Wilde's only major hit there, spending a week at number one.
Incidentally, since Wilde's recording was popular during the evolution of sample-based hip hop, a short drum break in her version has become one of the most sampled pieces of audio ever.[citation needed] In 2006, she performed a new version of the song with the German singer Nena for her Never Say Never album.
Supremes version credits
- Lead vocals by Diana Ross
- Backing vocals by Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson
- Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
- Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr.
- Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier
Sample
Notes
- ^ "You Keep Me Hangin' On" Songfacts entry Retrieved March 18, 2007