In Less Than A Year YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON Was Back In The Top Ten

[Boogiedown]

This time in a more dispirited psychedelic format:
Peaking at #6 Billboard Hot 100 -


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgaDGdxZ_OA

FWIW:
The HDH original was developed in eight sessions.
The Vanilla Fudge single was condensed from a single take.
It was the group's first and biggest release.[[wiki)

[marv2]

I remember their version. I liked it too.

[soulster]

I love both versions: the Supremes for pure pop perfection, and the Vanilla Fudge version for its heavy blues which was quite typical of the rock scene in 1968-1969. Ya gotta love that silly fake crying when he sings "And there ain't nothin' I can do about it!".

[midnightman]

Both versions rock but the Supremes' rock more due to the musical backing and that "Morse Code" guitar riffs... funky!

[marv2]

Both versions rock but the Supremes' rock more due to the musical backing and that "Morse Code" guitar riffs... funky!

The Supremes' version rocks more because it was made in Detroit with the Funk Brothers......hehehehehehe!

[midnightman]

The Supremes' version rocks more because it was made in Detroit with the Funk Brothers......hehehehehehe!

DUH! :p I know, I just wanted to mention the Morse Code guitar riffs in that mutha. Lol

[marybrewster]

Didn't this hit #1 three times?

The Supremes
Vanilla Fudge
Kim Wilde

[marybrewster]

Oops, VF only hit #6.

[RanRan79]

I actually love Kim Wilde's version as much as I do the Supremes.

[MarvinDK]

Aretha's cover must be one of the best in my opinion.

She really is on fire here:

https://youtu.be/bUIxhPymItY

[gman]

wasn't this the first top ten Supremes cover? I had that Vanilla Fudge LP in the late 70's when I was a teenager....it was VERY intense! they stretched out everything...[[even Elinor Rigby) YKMHO was the best cut on the LP...the LP version was longer but a manageable listen....some of the others were too much for me. [[ btw Deep Purple did a great very long psych version of River Deep Mountain High in '68 also edited for single release)
I suppose the Supremes and Tommy James and the Shondells original 60's hits had the most successful cover versions charting thru the 70's & 80's.

[soulster]

The Supremes
Vanilla Fudge
Kim Wilde

As a 60s/70s child, I never think of Kim Wilde. Good catch!

[TomatoTom123]

I actually love Kim Wilde's version as much as I do the Supremes.

Oh my RanRan really? Kim's version is awful IMO lol

[midnightman]

I actually love Kim Wilde's version as much as I do the Supremes.

Kim was aight... I didn't really care for it. If Bananarama had done it though...

[Bluebrock]

Oh my RanRan really? Kim's version is awful IMO lol
I totally agree Tom. I have known Kim for well over 30 years and find her to be a very entertaining and interesting person, but her version sucks big time. She made far better records than this insipid version.

[soulster]

I guess you have to be a fan of that late 80s pop sound to appreciate Kim's version.

[TomatoTom123]

I totally agree Tom. I have known Kim for well over 30 years and find her to be a very entertaining and interesting person, but her version sucks big time. She made far better records than this insipid version.

Yea Bluebrock if I'm honest I'm surprised it was such a hit... IMO it has none of the qualities that makes the original so wonderful

And as for Vanilla Fudge's cover, which I have now listened to, well, I'm not sure. Quite psychedelic. Interesting.

[TomatoTom123]

I guess you have to be a fan of that late 80s pop sound to appreciate Kim's version.

Yea probably soulster, I'm not the biggest fan of that sound but also I don't really think Kim is a very strong singer, just in general. Yea I said it :rolleyes:

[jobeterob]

In a lot of Canada, the Vanilla Fudge cover outperformed the Supremes hit.

The vanilla fudge version is good but it seems to me it’s pretty derivative of and much simpler than the original - just a different version of a very good song

[RanRan79]

Oh my RanRan really? Kim's version is awful IMO lol

Yes really. Lol Hey, we can't all dig the same stuff.

[RanRan79]

Kim was aight... I didn't really care for it. If Bananarama had done it though...

Ooh that's a thought! I bet their version would have been great too.

[RanRan79]

I guess you have to be a fan of that late 80s pop sound to appreciate Kim's version.

That's a safe bet, as you probably have to be a fan of a certain time period in music in order to really love the stuff no matter the song. I do love 80s pop...80s music period.

[144man]

Yea Bluebrock if I'm honest I'm surprised it was such a hit... IMO it has none of the qualities that makes the original so wonderful

And as for Vanilla Fudge's cover, which I have now listened to, well, I'm not sure. Quite psychedelic. Interesting.

You surprise me, Tom. Knowing your taste in music, I would have expected you to like this more. Maybe you need to hear it a few more times.

I reckon if I hadn't heard Vanilla Fudge's YKMHO, I wouldn't have been so kindly disposed to Rare Earth's "Get Ready" and "[[I Know) I'm Losing You" further on down the line.

[Mark Desjardines]

Say what you will about the various "You Keep Me Hanging' On" version discussed above, the fact remains that you just can't keep a classic Holland/Dozier/Holland composition down!

[marv2]

You surprise me, Tom. Knowing your taste in music, I would have expected you to like this more. Maybe you need to hear it a few more times.

I reckon if I hadn't heard Vanilla Fudge's YKMHO, I wouldn't have been so kindly disposed to Rare Earth's "Get Ready" and "[[I Know) I'm Losing You" further on down the line.

Rare Earth stuck closer to the original versions and were VERY Soulful.

[marv2]

Kim Wilde did a nice job with the song too in my opinion and I always liked Vanilla Fudge's version.

[marv2]

I remember when The Hollies covered Stop! In the Name of Love, I did not like it at all, but it became a hit for them in the early 80s:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfuFZfL7qps

[TomatoTom123]

You surprise me, Tom. Knowing your taste in music, I would have expected you to like this more. Maybe you need to hear it a few more times.

I reckon if I hadn't heard Vanilla Fudge's YKMHO, I wouldn't have been so kindly disposed to Rare Earth's "Get Ready" and "[[I Know) I'm Losing You" further on down the line.

[[Just to check I was talking about Kim's version when I said "it has none of the qualities that makes the original so wonderful" :))

It's good that you mentioned those Rare Earth songs Martin because I immediately thought of Rare Earth when I listened to VF's version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On"... the extended psychedelic rock-ish feel

It's also interesting that I wasn't too crazy about Vanilla Fudge's "YKMHO"... I'm not yet a massive fan of Rare Earth's version of "Get Ready" either... perhaps a few more listens as you say :D

[Motown Eddie]

Another version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" was the one done by Wilson Pickett in late 1969. It was similar to Vanilla Fudge's take on the song [[and it wasn't one of his big hits at #92 Pop & #16 Soul).

https://youtu.be/UE_0RIB4yIs

[copley]

Colourbox also did a great version.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmoqqh0z7Bk

[Boogiedown]

Interesting how in the late sixties the electric organ became one of the coolest of instruments for the rock scene and for acts like The Doors and in this case Vanilla Fudge .

I wasn't paying close attention to music much by the late eighties so this version by Kim Wilde escaped me . I'm amazed that this synth dance style broke thru the Top 40 wall , and enough to become a #1 song. Curious that of all the releases with that type of sound this one in particular would be one to cross over in such a big way as its Ok but not an especially innovative representation imo. Still you can't argue with #1. Must have been around Janet Jackson's prime time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhfQaLtb0q0

[144man]

[[Just to check I was talking about Kim's version when I said "it has none of the qualities that makes the original so wonderful" :))

It's good that you mentioned those Rare Earth songs Martin because I immediately thought of Rare Earth when I listened to VF's version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On"... the extended psychedelic rock-ish feel

It's also interesting that I wasn't too crazy about Vanilla Fudge's "YKMHO"... I'm not yet a massive fan of Rare Earth's version of "Get Ready" either... perhaps a few more listens as you say :D

How about this for a coincidence? I woke up at 4 o'clock this morning and started reading the March issue of Record Collector. When I got to page 22, there was an article on white Motown which contained the sentence "Rare Earth, the band, were perhaps somewhat inspired by Vanilla Fudge's success with an epically long cover of The Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On to devote the rest of their career to doing epically long covers of Norman Whitfield songs". This makes me feel that the Universe is playing a weird April Fool joke on me.