The players on the song were The Wrecking Crew. The arrangement is credited to Harold Battiste, but Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye asserts that at the session she devised the distinctive syncopated bass line that is featured on the released recording, replacing the original walking bass line in the prepared arrangement:
Songfacts: "What's an example of one of the songs that you guys really added to and made it into a hit?"
Carol Kaye: "Well, 'The Beat Goes On' is a biggie. I mean, it was a nothing song, and then the bass line kind of made that. But you'd have to say all of them. There's only a certain song, like 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'' that was guaranteed to be a hit because it was a great song. But about 95% of that stuff would not have been a hit without us, that's true."[2]
The recording session for the song was held on December 13, 1966 at the Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles with a backing band of 19 musicians from The Wrecking Crew.[3] After a two and a half hour session to record the song, guitarist Barney Kessel is reported to have stood up and proclaimed, "Never have so many played so little for so much."[4] The song's lyrics deal mainly with current events of the time, with the refrain "(And) the beat goes on, the beat goes on" following each verse.
All Seeing I also produced a cover version of the song for Britney Spears in November 1998, as the last track on her debut album, ...Baby One More Time.
Other versions
In 1967, the American jazz musician Buddy Rich performed a version on his Big Swing Face album, with his daughter Cathy Rich on vocals, arranged by Shorty Rogers.[19]
In 1982, an electro cover version was released by Orbit featuring Carol Hall with production by Don Was. It became a substantial dance club hit in January 1983.
An Australian version, produced by former Skyhooks guitarist Red Symons, became a Top 30 hit in 1983; it was recorded by Melbourne cabaret duo the Globos, which featured singers Wendy De Waal and Mark Trevorrow, the latter of whom later gained renown for his comedic alter-ego Bob Downe.
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