You Keep Me Hangin' On

"You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown group the Supremes, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge released a cover version in June the following year, which reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Wilson Pickett recorded it in 1969. English singer Kim Wilde covered "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1986, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1987. In the first 32 years of the Billboard Hot 100 rock era, "You Keep Me Hangin' On" became one of the six songs to reach number one by two different musical acts. In 1996, American country singer Reba McEntire's version reached number two on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. The BBC ranked the Supremes' original song at number 78 on The Top 100 Digital Motown Chart, which ranks Motown releases by their all-time UK downloads and streams.

Background
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was originally recorded in 1966 by the Supremes for the Motown label. The single is rooted in proto-funk and rhythm and blues, compared to the Supremes' previous single, "You Can't Hurry Love", which uses the call and response elements akin to gospel. The song's signature guitar part is said to have originated from a Morse code-like radio sound effect, typically used before a news announcement, heard by Lamont Dozier. Dozier collaborated with Brian and Eddie Holland to integrate the idea into a single.

Many elements of the recording, including the guitars, the drums, and Diana Ross's vocals were multitracked, a production technique which was established and popularized concurrently by Holland–Dozier–Holland (H–D–H) and other premier producers of the 1960s such as Phil Spector (see Wall of Sound) and George Martin. H–D–H recorded the song in eight sessions with the Supremes and session band the Funk Brothers before settling on a version deemed suitable for the final release.

Reception
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the first single taken from the Supremes' 1967 album The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland. The song became the group's eighth number-one single when it topped the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart for two weeks in the United States from November 19 to 26, 1966. It peaked at number eight in the UK Singles Chart. The Supremes original version was ranked number 339 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was voted number 43 on Detroit's 100 Greatest Songs, a Detroit Free Press poll in 2016. Billboard described the song as a "pulsating rocker with the trio in top form" with an "interesting, driving guitar figure throughout." 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." Record World described it as "a driving nifty with distinctive sound."

The track is one of the more oft-covered songs in the Supremes canon. The group performed the song on the ABC variety program The Hollywood Palace on October 29, 1966.

In 1999, the 1966 original recording by the Supremes was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Personnel

 * Diana Ross – lead vocals
 * Florence Ballard – backing vocals
 * Mary Wilson – backing vocals
 * The Funk Brothers – instrumental accompaniment

Sales

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Background
Vanilla Fudge's 1967 psychedelic rock remake entitled "You Keep Me Hanging On" reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart a year after the release of the Supremes' recording. While the edited version released on the 45 RPM single was under three minutes long, the album version was 7:26. The recording, done in one take, was Vanilla Fudge's first single.

Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice talked about the band's decision to cover the song in a 2014 interview:

"That was Mark and Timmy. 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 the series finale of the television show The Sopranos (2007), at the conclusion of episode 1 of season 7 of the television series Mad Men (2015), the film War Dogs (2016), the video game Mafia III (2016), the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and its soundtrack, and over the closing credits of the "Intervention" (2022) episode of That Damn Michael Che.

Personnel

 * Carmine Appice – drums, vocals
 * Tim Bogert – bass, vocals
 * Vince Martell – guitar, vocals
 * Mark Stein – lead vocals, keyboards

Background
"You Keep Me Hangin' On" was covered by English singer Kim Wilde in 1986. Wilde's version was a total re-working of the original, completely transforming the Supremes' Motown Sound into a hi-NRG song.

Reception
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, and number one in Australia. 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 the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in June 1987. It later ranked as the 34th best-selling song of 1987 on Billboard's Hot 100 year-end chart that year. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for UK sales in excess of 250,000 copies.

In 2006, Wilde performed a new version of the song with German singer Nena for her Never Say Never album.

Music video
Wilde filmed a music video to promote the song. 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.

Reba McEntire version
American country singer Reba 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 on MCA 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 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Reception
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "A Reba McEntire dance record? On paper, such an idea seems frighteningly incongruous. But in the hands of British production team Love To Infinity, the concept works like gangbusters. Playfully digging into the Supremes' pop classic, McEntire has a saucy style that is well-suited to the track's storm of bright pop/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 the disco round ASAP." Dan Glaister from The Guardian said songs like "You Keep Me Hanging On" are "safe, solid, and destined for a marketing megablitz. They're huge, but hardly country."

Track listing

 * 12" vinyl, 1996 (US)
 * A1. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Classic Paradise Mix) – 7:46
 * A2. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Classic Paradise Instrumental) – 7:47
 * B1. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Deep Love Mix) – 8:55
 * B2. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Aphrodisiac Mix) – 7:12


 * CD maxi-single, 1996 (US)
 * 1) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Classic Paradise Radio Mix) – 3:44
 * 2) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Classic Paradise Mix) – 7:46
 * 3) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Classic Paradise Instrumental) – 7:47
 * 4) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Deep Love Mix) – 8:55
 * 5) "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (Aphrodisiac Mix) – 7:12

Other versions
A version is included on the 1968 album Cry Like a Baby by the Box Tops. It used a psychedelic rock arrangement similar to the Vanilla Fudge version.

In 1969, Mary McCaslin released a cover version. According to The New York Times, it "transforms the tune from an urban teen-oriented lament into a mountain-flavored folk song of quiet, adult desperation."

R&B singer Wilson Pickett recorded a version of the Vanilla Fudge cover which was released as a single in 1969 and included on his 1970 album Right On. Pickett's version reached number 16 on the US R&B chart and 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was also covered by Colourbox, on the 4AD label in 1985 being released as a B-side on the single "The Moon Is Blue" (7"/12") and appearing on the self-titled Colourbox album.

Dianna Agron as Quinn Fabray performed the song in the Glee episode "Throwdown". Raymund Flandez for The Wall Street Journal was critical of this cover, which he called "thin and jarring", while in 2015 The A.V. Club described it as "one of the best numbers in Glee history" and Mashable ranked it in the show's top 50 songs. The version peaked at number 166 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending February 27, 2010.

The song was used during a lip-sync battle in the fourth episode of the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK between contestants Sister Sister and Ginny Lemon, in which the latter walked off the stage.