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The Beat Goes On (Sonny & Cher song)

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"The Beat Goes On"
Artwork for German vinyl single
Single by Sonny & Cher
from the album In Case You're in Love
B-side"Love Don't Come"
ReleasedJanuary 1967 (1967)
RecordedDecember 13, 1966
StudioGold Star, Hollywood
Length3:18
LabelAtco
Songwriter(s)Sonny Bono[1]
Producer(s)Sonny Bono
Sonny & Cher singles chronology
"Living For You"
(1966) 		"The Beat Goes On"
(1967) 		"A Beautiful Story"
(1967)
Audio video
"The Beat Goes On" on YouTube

"The Beat Goes On" is a song written and composed by Sonny Bono and recorded by Sonny & Cher.[1] It was issued as a single and appeared on their 1967 album In Case You're in Love. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 14, 1967, peaking at number six.

Production

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The backing music for the song was recorded using a group of Los Angeles session musicians nicknamed "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.

Live performances

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Sonny and Cher performed the song many times on their hit 1970s television variety shows, as well as in their live concerts. The song was included in the "Sonny and Cher" video montages during Cher's Do You Believe? Tour and The Farewell Tour. Cher performed the song live with Sonny's voice track on her successful Cher at the Colosseum show as well as her 2014 Dressed to Kill Tour and 2017-2020 Classic Cher shows. It was also performed during her Here We Go Again Tour (2018-2020). In 2019, Cher performed the song during the season finale of Dancing with the Stars.[5]

Personnel

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According to the AFM contract sheet, the following musicians played on the track.[6]

Charts

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All Seeing I version

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"Beat Goes On"
Single by All Seeing I
from the album Pickled Eggs and Sherbet
B-side"Booty in the I"
Released1997 (1997)
Length4:03
LabelEarth Records, FFRR
Songwriter(s)Sonny Bono
All Seeing I singles chronology
"I Walk"
(1997) 		"Beat Goes On"
(1997) 		"Walk Like a Panther"
(1998)
Music video
"The All Seeing I - Beat Goes On (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

In 1997, British electronic music group All Seeing I released a version sampling the vocals from the Buddy Rich version. When re-released in 1998, it peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the UK Dance Singles Chart.[17] It also reached the top 40 in Scotland and New Zealand.

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

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  • In 1967, the American jazz musician Buddy Rich performed a version on his Big Swing Face album, with his daughter Cathy on vocals, arranged by Shorty Rogers.[18]
  • In 1968, Vanilla Fudge included a version of it on their album The Beat Goes On, which they released that year.
  • 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.
  • The song was covered by Giant Sand on their 2002 album Cover Magazine.[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sonny Bono interviewed on the Pop Chronicles (1969)
  2. ^ "Songfacts: Songwriter Interviews - Carol Kaye (interviewed Oct. 12 2011)". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Phonograph Recording Contract Blank: American Federation of Musicians" (PDF). Wreckingcrewfilm.com. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  4. ^ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780312619749.
  5. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  6. ^ "The Beat Goes On AFM Contract" (PDF). The Wrecking Crew. American Federation of Musicians. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "Sonny & Cher The Beat Goes On, Dutch Charts". dutchchart.nl. 1967-03-04. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
  8. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sonny and Cher". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 241. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Billboard - Hits of the World" (PDF). American Radio History. 1967-03-04. Retrieved 2016-09-29.
  10. ^ "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (in French). BAnQ. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Songs (A-B)".
  12. ^ "Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  13. ^ "Top 100 1967-03-04". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  14. ^ "RPM chart archives at Collections Canada for the Cher single The Beat Goes On". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  15. ^ Dutch Top 40 (1967). "Dutch Top 40; End of year charts" (PDF). Retrieved August 27, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Top Records of 1967 – Hot 100". Billboard. Vol. 79, no. 52. December 30, 1967. p. 42. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  17. ^ Roberts, David (Ed.) (2004). British Hit Singles & Albums (17th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 0-85112-199-3.
  18. ^ "The Buddy Rich Big Band* - Big Swing Face (Vinyl, LP, Album)". Discogs.com. 1967. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  19. ^ Dahlen, Chris (14 March 2002). "Giant Sand: Cover Magazine". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
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