| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Picture sleeve for US vinyl single | ||||
| Single bythe Supremes | ||||
| from the albumThe Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland | ||||
| B-side | "Remove This Doubt" | |||
| Released | October 12, 1966 | |||
| Recorded | 1966 | |||
| Studio | Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:40 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| The Supremes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland track listing | ||||
12 tracks
| ||||
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed byHolland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown groupthe Supremes, reaching number one on theBillboard Hot 100.
The song has since been interpreted by many performers. American rock bandVanilla Fudge released a cover version in June the following year, which reached number six on theBillboard Hot 100. Wilson Pickett recorded it in 1969. English singerKim Wilde covered "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1986, reaching number one on theBillboard Hot 100 in June 1987. In 1996, a version recorded by Americancountry singerReba McEntire reached number two on the USBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart.
In the first 32 years of theBillboard Hot 100 rock era, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" became one of the six songs to reach number one by two different musical acts, for the Supremes and Wilde versions.[4] TheBBC ranked the Supremes' original song at number 78 onThe Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranksMotown releases by their all-time UK downloads and streams.[5]
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was originally recorded in 1966 bythe Supremes for theMotown label. The single is rooted in proto-funk andrhythm and blues, compared to the Supremes' previous single, "You Can't Hurry Love", which uses thecall and response elements akin togospel. The song's signature guitar part is said to have originated from aMorse code-like radio sound effect, typically used before a news announcement, heard byLamont Dozier. Dozier collaborated withBrian andEddie Holland to integrate the idea into a single.[6]
Many elements of the recording, including the guitars, the drums, andDiana Ross's vocals weremultitracked, a production technique which was established and popularized concurrently byHolland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H) and other premier producers of the 1960s such asPhil Spector (seeWall of Sound) andGeorge Martin. H–D–H recorded the song in eight sessions with the Supremes and session bandthe Funk Brothers before settling on a version deemed suitable for the final release.[6]
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the first single taken from the Supremes' 1967 albumThe Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland. The song became the group's eighth number-one single when it topped theBillboard Hot 100 pop singles chart for two weeks in the United States from November 19 to 26, 1966.[7][8] It peaked at number eight in theUK Singles Chart. The Supremes original version was ranked number 339 onRolling Stone'sThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[9] It was voted number 43 on Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs, aDetroit Free Press poll in 2016.[10]Billboard described the song as a "pulsating rocker with the trio in top form" with an "interesting, driving guitar figure throughout."[11]Cash Box said that it is "another in [the Supremes'] long-line of strong 'Detroit' offerings" that "is bound to follow in footsteps of the group’s previous winners."[12]Record World described it as "a driving nifty with distinctive sound."[13]
The track is one of the most often covered songs in the Supremes canon. The group performed the song on theABCvarietyprogramThe Hollywood Palace on October 29, 1966.[14]
In 1999, the 1966 original recording by the Supremes was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[15]
| Chart (1966–1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[16] | 27 |
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[17] | 29 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[18] | 12 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] | 3 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn)[20] | 9 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[21] | 16 |
| Malaysia (Billboard)[22] | 9 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Listener)[24] | 18 |
| Singapore (Billboard)[25] | 2 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[26] | 8 |
| UK R&B (Record Mirror)[27] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[28] | 1 |
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[29] | 1 |
| USCashbox Top 100[30] | 1 |
| USCashbox R&B[31] | 2 |
| USRecord World 100 Top Pops[32] | 1 |
| USRecord World Top 50 R&B[33] | 1 |
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (OCC)[26] | 91 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norway (VG-lista)[34] Superstars feat. The Supremes | 8 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom Digital sales and streams only | — | 84,000[35] |
| United States | — | 1,000,000[36][37] |
| "You Keep Me Hanging On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byVanilla Fudge | ||||
| from the albumVanilla Fudge | ||||
| B-side | "Take Me for a Little While" | |||
| Released | June 1967[38] | |||
| Recorded | 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Atco | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Holland-Dozier-Holland | |||
| Producer(s) | Shadow Morton | |||
| Vanilla Fudge singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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Vanilla Fudge's 1967psychedelic rock remake titled "You Keep Me Hanging On" reached number six on theBillboard Hot 100 chart a year after the release of the Supremes' recording. While the edited version released on the45 RPM single was under three minutes long, the album version was 7:26 and features a markedly slower and more aggressive interpretation of the song. The recording, done in one take, was Vanilla Fudge's first single.[41]
Vanilla Fudge drummerCarmine Appice talked about the band's decision to record the song in a 2014 interview:[42]
That was Mark and Timmy [the band's keyboardist and bassist]. We used to slow songs down and listen to the lyrics and try to emulate what the lyrics were dictating. That one was a hurtin' song; it had a lot of emotion in it. "People Get Ready" was like a Gospel thing. "Eleanor Rigby" was sort of eerie and church-like ... like a horror movie kind of thing. If you listen to "Hangin' On" fast ... by the Supremes, it sounds very happy, but the lyrics aren't happy at all. If you lived through that situation, the lyrics are definitely not happy.
The Vanilla Fudge version appears in theseries finale of the television showThe Sopranos (2007), at the conclusion of episode 1 of season 7 of the television seriesMad Men (2015),[43] the filmWar Dogs (2016), the video gameMafia III (2016), the filmOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and itssoundtrack, and over the closing credits of the "Intervention" (2022) episode ofThat Damn Michael Che. It Also appears in the snowboarding film by Burton "One World" (2020).[44]
| Chart (1967–1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[45] | 50 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[46] | 13 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[47] | 11 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[48] | 18 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[49] | 6 |
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7-inch vinyl variant of the standard cover; the North American variant used different colours | ||||
| Single byKim Wilde | ||||
| from the albumAnother Step | ||||
| B-side | "Loving You" | |||
| Released | September 19, 1986[50] | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Studio | Westlake, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:15 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Holland-Dozier-Holland | |||
| Producer(s) | Ricky Wilde | |||
| Kim Wilde singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" onYouTube | ||||
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was covered by English singerKim Wilde in 1986. Wilde's version was a total re-working of the original, completely transforming the Supremes' Motown Sound into ahi-NRG song.[52]
It was released as the second single from Wilde's fifth studio album,Another Step (although "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the LP's first worldwide single, as the first single had been released only in selected countries). The song reached number two in Wilde's native United Kingdom,[57] and number one inAustralia.[58] It also became Wilde's second and last top-40 entry in the United States following "Kids in America" (1981), as well as her most successful song in that country to date, reaching number one on theBillboard Hot 100 chart for one week in June 1987.[4] It later ranked as the 34th best-selling song of 1987 onBillboard's Hot 100 year-end chart that year. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was certifiedsilver by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI)[59] for UK sales in excess of 250,000 copies.[60]
In 2006, Wilde performed a new version of the song with German singerNena for herNever Say Never album.
Wilde filmed a music video to promote the song.[61] Directed by Greg Masuak, the video shows Wilde in a dark room lying on a large bed. She then rises from the bed as she sings the song and finds herself being "threatened" by a strange man who is breaking down the walls around her.[62]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[89] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[59] | Silver | 250,000[60] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
France Gold + 250.000
| "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byReba McEntire | ||||
| from the albumStarting Over | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Dance | |||
| Length | 3:44 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | |||
| Reba McEntire singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Americancountry singerReba McEntire covered "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1995 for her twenty-second studio album,Starting Over (1996). Released as the album's fourth single in 1996 onMCA Nashville Records, it was co-produced by Tony Brown and Michael Omartian. Although not released to country radio, McEntire's rendition was her only dance hit, reaching number two on the USBillboardHot Dance Club Play chart.[90]
Larry Flick fromBillboard wrote, "A Reba McEntiredance record? On paper, such an idea seems frighteningly incongruous. But in the hands of British production teamLove To Infinity, the concept works like gangbusters. Playfully digging into theSupremes' pop classic, McEntire has a saucy style that is well-suited to the track's storm of brightpop/house percussion and sugary synths. Her country base may find this a tad hard to swallow, but it is so darn good that you'll be wishing for another romp in thedisco round ASAP."[91] Dan Glaister fromThe Guardian said songs like "You Keep Me Hanging On" are "safe, solid, and destined for a marketing megablitz. They're huge, but hardly country."[92]
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Dance Club Play (Billboard) | 2 |
In 1969,Mary McCaslin released a cover version. According toThe New York Times, it "transforms the tune from an urban teen-oriented lament into a mountain-flavored folk song of quiet, adult desperation."[93]
R&B singerWilson Pickett recorded a version of the Vanilla Fudge cover which was released as a single in 1969 and included on his 1970 albumRight On. Pickett's version reached number 16 on the US R&B chart and 92 on theBillboard Hot 100.
Dianna Agron asQuinn Fabray performed the song in theGlee episode "Throwdown".[94] Raymund Flandez forThe Wall Street Journal was critical of this cover, which he called "thin and jarring",[95] while in 2015The A.V. Club described it as "one of the best numbers inGlee history"[96] andMashable ranked it in the show's top 50 songs.[97] The version peaked at number 166 on theUK Singles Chart for the week ending February 27, 2010.[98]
No wonder: Its unceasing beat, bright guitar chirping, horn blasts, and bubbling bass line make it arguably the most rock-influenced hit of the group's career.
Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On," like Bananarama's "Venus" before it, was a rare chart breakthrough for hi-NRG...
!["Gallup UK Singles – W/E Jan 24, 1986 [sic]"](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fscans.chartarchive.org%2fUK%2f1987%2f04%2520-%252024%2520January%2520-%2520RM%2520Singles.jpg){kind=link}
