And the Beat Goes On (The Whispers song)

"And the Beat Goes On"
Single by The Whispers
from the album The Whispers
B-side	"Can You Do the Boogie"
Released	1980
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1979
Genre	Post-disco[1]
Length	7:30
Label	SOLAR
Writer(s)	Leon Sylvers Stephen Shockley William Shelby
Producer(s)	Dick Griffey The Whispers
Certification	Gold (RIAA)[2]
The Whispers singles chronology
"A Song for Donny" (1979) " And the Beat Goes On" (1980) "Lady" (1980)

"And the Beat Goes On" is a 1980 single by the American music group The Whispers. 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.^[3] "And the Beat Goes On" was the group's only number one song on the dance chart.^[4] 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.

Track listing

7" single^[5]

1. "And the Beat Goes On" – 3:25
2. "Can You Do the Boogie" – 3:50

12" single^[5]

1. "And the Beat Goes On" – 7:30
2. "Can You Do the Boogie" – 6:07

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1980) Peak position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 30 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] 33 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[7] 27 France (IFOP)[8] 12 Germany (Official German Charts)[9] 20 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 14 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 26 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] 19 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 16 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 2 US Billboard Hot 100[16] 19 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[16] 1 US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[16] 1 US Cash Box[17] 19 US Record World[18] 23

Chart (1987) Peak position Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[19] 17 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 26 France (SNEP)[21] 39 Year-end charts Chart (1980) Position US Billboard Hot Soul Singles[22] 5

Sampling

• Monie Love sampled the song's background for her 1989 hit, "I Can Do This".^[23]
• C.J. Lewis sampled the song's background in his 1995 single "R to the A" from his album "Rough N Smooth". It reached up to N°35 in the UK singles charts.
• Will Smith used a sample of the song for his 1998 hit single, "Miami".^[24]
• Madonna also sampled parts of this song during her performance of "Beat Goes On" on her 2008–2009 Sticky & Sweet Tour.

In popular culture

The song is featured in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.^[25]

Editing and remixes

• 1987: Commander Tom – "And the Rap Goes On" – 6:51
• 1988: MC Miker G & DJ Sven – "And the Bite Goes On" – 6:24 (This song also samples Shalamar's "The Second Time Around")
• 1999: Daft Punk – "And the Beat Goes On" – 2:35 (as part of their BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix from Christmas Day 1999)
• 2012: Prince Fatty & Hollie Cook – "And the Beat Goes On" – 2:51^[26]
• 2012: Legowelt – "And the Beat Goes On" – 4:36^[27]
• 2013: Palace of Malice – "Primetime" (sampled beat)

The song was also remixed in house music style^[28] and in 2010, DJ OzYBoY released a remix in which "And the Beat Goes On" is melted with MARRS's "Pump Up The Volume".^[29]

References

1. Ro, Ronin (1998). Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records. Quartet Books. p. 40. 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.
2. "Gold & Platinum – Whispers". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 619.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 279.
5. "Ultratop.be – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
6. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6959." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0189a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
8. "InfoDisc : Tous les Titres par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "The Whispers" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
9. "Officialcharts.de – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – And The Beat Goes On". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
13. "Charts.org.nz – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On". Singles Top 100. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
15. "Archive Chart: 1980-02-23" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
16. "The Whispers [1980] – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
17. CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending APRIL 12, 1980 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 15, 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
18. "Songs from the Year 1980". TsorT. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
19. "Radio2 top 30: 11 juli 1987" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
20. "Ultratop.be – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On '87" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
21. "Lescharts.com – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
22. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – 1980 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 20, 2006). Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
23. "Monie Love's I Can Do This sample of The Whispers's And the Beat Goes On". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
24. "Will Smith's Miami sample of The Whispers's And the Beat Goes On". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
25. Phares, Heather. "Original Soundtrack – Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Vol. 6: Fever 105". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
26. Prince Fatty & Hollie Cook – And The Beat Goes On. YouTube.
27. Legowelt – And the Beat Goes On (Whispers cover) Video. YouTube. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
28. The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On (Remixed). YouTube. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
29. DJ OzYBoY – The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On – 2010 Remix. YouTube. Retrieved August 1, 2013.