Written by composer and songwriter Holland–Dozier–Holland, “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” was originally recorded in 1966 by The Supremes. The song followed a similar “call and response” feel to the hit “You Can’t Hurry Love,” but lyrically instead it comes from the perspective of begging a former lover to stop “breadcrumbing” and definitively end the relationship.
“You Keep Me Hangin’ On” was the first single from the album, The Supremes Sing Holland–Dozier–Holland. It became the group’s eighth number one hit upon release, and spent two weeks atop the charts. Billboard called the song a “pulsating rocker with the trio in top form” with an “interesting, driving guitar figure throughout.” The song went on to be one of the most covered in The Supremes’ catalog, and in 1999 it was inducted into the Grammy’s Hall of Fame.
Just one year later in 1967, American Rock Band Vanilla Fudge recorded and released a cover of the song, marking their first single. Their interpretation was much slower, darker, moodier, and pointed than the original, and it reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Vanilla Fudge version would go on to be used in the series finale of the hit show, The Sopranos, an episode of Mad Men, and the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
20 years later in 1986, English singer Kim Wilde put her spin on the song. For her album, Another Step, Wilde completely reworked the track to make it a hi-NRG, uptempo disco song. In the UK, Wilde’s cover reached number two on the chart, and it became her second and final top-40 song in the United States, reaching number one for one week in June of 1987.
In 1995, country music superstar Reba McEntire took her stab at the tune, recording a cover for her 22nd studio album, Starting Over. The track was met with mixed reviews and not released via country radio.
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