"Never Give You Up" is a single by

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

that reached no. 20 in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart and no. 16 in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1968. It was written by Gamble & Huff. Butler was also credited as co-composer. The song has also been covered by

Eddie Floyd Eddie Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Early life and education Floy ...

, Buddy Greco, Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers, Leonard Julien III,

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

Background

The credited composers on the single are Gamble, Huff and

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

. The single was released on Mercury 72798 in April 1968. The song spent 14 weeks on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart, eventually peaking at no. 20 on July 6, 1968. It also peaked at no. 16 in Canada the same month. This track was also recorded at the Cameo Parkway Reco Arts studio in Philadelphia and featured musicians who would later go on to play on many groups' hit records recorded at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia for such artists as The Spinners,

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

and Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. The personnel on the session included Norman Harris and Bobby Eli on guitar, Ronnie Baker on bass, Leon Huff on piano, and Earl Young on Drums and Vince Montana on vibes. The session was engineered by Joe Tarsia and arranged by Bobby Martin.

Other versions

1960s

Thee Midnighters had their version of the song as the B side of their "Chicano Power" single which was released around 1967 - 1968.

covered the song which appeared on his 1968

Stax Stax can refer to: * StAX, (Computer Programming) Streaming API for reading and writing XML in Java * Stax Ltd, a Japanese brand of electrostatic headphones * Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, ...

album, ''I've Never Found A Girl''. A version by Shirley And The Shirelles was recorded. It was included as the B side of single "Go Away And Find Yourself" which was released on

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

in 1969. Buddy Greco recorded a version of the song which appeared as the B side of his single, "Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon", released on

Wand Records Wand Records was an American independent record label, started by Florence Greenberg in 1961 as a subsidiary of Scepter Records. Artists on Wand Records included The Isley Brothers, The Kingsmen, Mel Wynn & the Rhythm Aces, Chuck Jackson, and th ...

in 1970. It was also on his '' Let the Sunshine In'' album which was previously released on Scepter Records SPS 579 in 1969. A group called

The Road ''The Road'' is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over several months across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that has destroyed ...

had a version on their self-titled album in which was released on

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...

in 1969.

1970s to 1980s

In 1971,

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

released a version of this song on his album '' Black Moses''. In 1977, a single by

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

and

Dobie Gray Dobie Gray (born Lawrence Darrow Brown; July 26, 1940 – December 6, 2011) was an American singer and songwriter. Gray's music spanned multiple genres, including soul, country, pop, and musical theater. His hit songs included " The 'In' Cro ...

was released on Capricorn 2089 039. Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers recorded a version that appeared on their 1979 '' Bustin' Loose'' album.

1990s to 2010s

The 2005 album ''Push Comes to Shove'' by rapper M.E.D. featured the song "Never Give U Up", produced by Oh No, who built the instrumental backing around a portion of the Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers version of "Never Give You Up". Leonard Julien III recorded the song and it appeared on his ''Reflections of Soul'' album which came out on Modeste Records in 2007.

recorded the song as well and it appears on the RCA 88697603432 release of his 2009 '' Soulbook'' album.

recorded a version which appeared on their ''

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

'' album which was released in 2010. Their version was also used in the Series 3 Episode 4 of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series '' Luther'', which starred

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba Order of the British Empire, OBE ( ; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor and musician. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards. He w ...

. Tony Strong & the Philly Soul recorded a version that was included on their 2012 album "It Ain’t Over".Soul Express, March 2013
INTRODUCING... TONY STRONG & THE PHILLY SOUL *
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References

External links

Jerry Butler - Never Gonna Give You Up (1968)

Buddy Greco - Never gonna give you up - A Danny Whitfield Mix

Bonnie Bramlett & Dobie Gray - Never gonna give you up - Danny Whitifield Mix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Never Give You Up 1968 singles Jerry Butler songs The Black Keys songs Songs written by Kenny Gamble Songs written by Leon Huff Songs written by Jerry Butler 1968 songs Mercury Records singles