"And the Beat Goes On" | ||||
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Single by the Whispers | ||||
from the album The Whispers | ||||
B-side | "Can You Do the Boogie" | |||
Released | 1979 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 7:30 (Long version) 4:30 (Video edit) 3:25 (7' version) | |||
Label | SOLAR | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | ||||
The Whispers singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"And the Beat Goes On" on YouTube |
"And the Beat Goes On" is a 1979 single by the American music group The Whispers. [3] The song was their first of two number-one singles on the Soul chart, and their first Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 19. [4] "And the Beat Goes On" was the group's only number-one song on the dance chart. [5] It was also their first and biggest hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at number 27 on the Canadian RPM chart.
In 1996 after Phyllis Hyman died, the Whispers honored her with a musical: Thank God! The Beat Goes On. The fictionalized story intertwines the long-running career of the Whispers with the rise of Hyman, using songs by the Whispers including ones Hyman sang with them such as "The Beat Goes On". The Whispers played themselves while R&B singer Alyson Williams played the role of Hyman. [6]
7" single [7]
12" single [7]
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Year-end charts
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The song was sampled in Monie Love's 1989 single "I Can Do This" from her debut album Down to Earth , Will Smith's 1998 single "Miami" [27] and BigXthaPlug's 2023 single "Mmhmm". It was also featured in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City . [28]
"Funkytown" is a song by American disco-funk group Lipps Inc., written and produced by Steven Greenberg and released by Casablanca Records in March 1980 as the second single from the group's 1979 debut studio album Mouth to Mouth.
"Super Freak" is a 1981 single produced and performed by American singer Rick James. The song, co-written by James and Alonzo Miller, was first released on James' fifth album, Street Songs (1981) and became one of James' signature songs. "Freak" is a slang term for the sexually adventurous, as described in the song's lyrics, "She's a very kinky girl / The kind you don't take home to mother". Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song number 477 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, number 481 in 2010, and number 153 in an updated list in 2021. The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1982 Grammys. The song has been sampled by MC Hammer in 1990, and by Nicki Minaj in 2022.
"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, Midnight Love (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime (1981) album the previous year. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is listed at number 198 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Sexual Healing" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 4/4 with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.
"Sadeness (Part I)" is a song by German musical project Enigma, released in October 1990 by Virgin Records as the lead single from their first album, MCMXC a.D. (1990). It became an international hit, reaching number one in 14 countries. In the United States, the song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on both the Dance Club Play and 12-inch Singles Sales charts. Its music video was directed by Michel Guimbard. A sequel to the song, "Sadeness (Part II)" featuring Anggun, was released on Enigma's eighth studio album, The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016).
"Time After Time" is a 1983 song by American singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper, co-written with Rob Hyman, who also provided backing vocals. It was the second single released from her debut studio album, She's So Unusual (1983). The track was produced by Rick Chertoff and released as a single in March 1984. The song became Lauper's first number 1 hit in the U.S. The song was written in the album's final stages, after "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night" had been written or recorded. The writing began with the title, which Lauper had seen in TV Guide magazine, referring to the science fiction film Time After Time (1979).
"Jive Talkin'" is a song by the Bee Gees, released as a single in May 1975 by RSO Records. This was the lead single from the album Main Course and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100; it also reached the top-five on the UK Singles Chart in the middle of 1975. Largely recognised as the group's comeback song, it was their first US top-10 hit since "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" (1971).
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover version by the American band Blondie became a US and UK number one hit. The song topped the UK Singles Chart again in 2002 with a version by the British girl group Atomic Kitten, while Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall had a minor hit with his interpretation in 2008.
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher featuring American rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris. The song is written by the featured artists alongside Sean Garrett, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. The song incorporates crunk and R&B—which Lil Jon coined as crunk&B—in the song's production. The song was released as the lead single from Usher's fourth studio album Confessions (2004) on January 10, 2004, after Usher was told by Arista Records, his label at the time, to record more tracks for the album.
"Smalltown Boy" is the debut single by the British synth-pop band Bronski Beat, released in May 1984. The lyrics describe a young gay man who is forced to leave home.
"Could It Be Magic" is a song written by Adrienne Anderson and composed by American singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, inspired by Frédéric Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, Number 20.
"Celebration" is a 1980 song by American band Kool & the Gang. Released as the first single from their twelfth album, Celebrate! (1980), it was the band's first and only single to reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Please Don't Go" is a song written by Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch to persuade Oliver Edwards not to leave BECK, then members of KC and the Sunshine Band, and released as the second single from the band's sixth album, Do You Wanna Go Party (1979). Cover versions of the song that reached the top songs charts were recorded by Double You (1992), KWS (1992), and Basshunter (2008).
"I Wanna Sex You Up" is a song by American R&B group Color Me Badd, released in March 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, C.M.B. (1991). The song was produced by Dr. Freeze and was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1991 film New Jack City, starring Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Chris Rock and Judd Nelson. The single, released by Giant, Reprise and Warner Bros. achieved commercial success in the United States. It spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and topping both the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. "I Wanna Sex You Up" also enjoyed international success, peaking atop the charts of New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Its music video was directed by American director Lionel C. Martin.
"Miami" is a song by American rapper and actor Will Smith from his debut solo album, Big Willie Style (1997). It samples the Whispers's 1979 single "And the Beat Goes On". Released as a single on November 23, 1998, the song charted at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles Chart.
"Mr. Vain" is a song by German musical group Culture Beat, released in April 1993 by Dance Pool as the lead single from the group's second studio album, Serenity (1993). The song was written by Steven Levis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme, and produced by Torsten Fenslau. Tania Evans is the lead vocalist and Supreme is the rapper. The female part of the lyrics describes the narcissist title character Mr. Vain, while the rap embodies his selfish desires.
"Dim All the Lights" is a song by American recording artist Donna Summer released as the third single from her 1979 album Bad Girls. It debuted at number 70 on August 25, 1979, and peaked that year at number two on November 10 and November 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Produced by her longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder with Pete Bellotte, the track combines Summer's trademark disco beats with a more soulful pop sound. It was the third Hot 100 top-two single from the album and her sixth consecutive Hot 100 top-five single.
"Johnny and Mary" is a song written and originally performed by Robert Palmer. Palmer's version was recorded in 1980 at Compass Point Studios, New Providence, in the Bahamas. The song was featured on Palmer's album Clues (1980).
"How to Dance" is a song by Austrian house music trio Bingoboys from their debut studio album, The Best of Bingoboys. The song features American female rapper Princessa. The song was first released in the United States in 1990 and was given a European release in March 1991. "How to Dance" peaked at number two in Austria and reached the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. In the US, it climbed to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in March 1991.
"The Second Time Around" is a 1979 hit by Los Angeles–based group Shalamar. The song is the first single from their album, Big Fun. Released in December 1979, the single went to number one on the soul chart and was their most successful hit on the Hot 100 pop chart, reaching number eight in early 1980. "The Second Time Around" also went to number one on the disco/dance chart in January 1980. The song was produced by Leon Sylvers III, who cowrote the song with William Shelby.
"Buddy X" is a song by Swedish musician Neneh Cherry, released in 1993 by Circa and Virgin Records as the third and final single from her second album, Homebrew (1992). Co-written and co-produced by Cherry, it was a top-40 hit in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, peaking at numbers 23 and 35, respectively. The song also charted in the United States, reaching No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in Canada, where it reached No. 28 on the RPM Top Singles chart. Additionally, it peaked at No. 2 on the European Dance Radio Chart by Music & Media and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
SOLAR (...), which grew out of an association between promoter Griffey and Soul Train host Don Cornelius, released a string of post-disco hits that included Shalamar's "The Second Time Around" and the Whispers' "And the Beat Goes On.