And the Beat Goes On

“And the Beat Goes On” is the 1979 hit single from American soul group The Whispers. The song appeared on their self-titled 1979 album. It is perhaps The Whispers most well-known track and was the group’s only #1 hit on the charts.

“And the Beat Goes On” is a upbeat soul track written by Leon Sylvers, Stephen Shockley and William Shelby, with production done by Dick Griffey and The Whispers. The track is about remaining positive in hard times and referring to a beat of music as a metaphor for life and to keep “moving strong on and on”. The song has also been sampled in American actor and musician Will Smith’s 1999 hit single “Miami”.

The official music video for the song was uploaded to Solar Records’ YouTube channel on the 22nd October 2014. It shows The Whispers performing the song live in a studio, all dancing together. As of March 2020, the video has 8.2 million views and 62 thousand likes, with 3.5 million streams globally on Spotify.

Release Date: 1979

Songwriter/s: Leon Sylvers, Stephen Shockley & William Shelby

Producer/s: Dick Griffey & The Whispers

Label: SOLAR

Music Video Release Date: 22nd October 2014

Chart Rankings: “And the Beat Goes On” hit the mainstream charts in multiple countries within a year of its release, reaching #30 in Belgium, #33 and #27 in the Canadian charts; #12 in France, #20 in Germany, #14 in Ireland, #26 and #19 on different charts in the Netherlands; #7 in New Zealand, #16 in Sweden, #2 in the UK and #19, #1 and #23 on various US charts.

The lyrics to “And the Beat Goes On” can be viewed here: LINK