Мадоннаның "Keep It Together" әні туралы

1990 single by Madonna
the song by Madonna

"Keep It Together" is a song by American singer Madonna from her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989). It was released as the fifth (sixth overall) and final single from the album in the United States, Canada and Japan on January 30, 1990, by Sire Records. Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind "Keep It Together" was Madonna's relationship with her family—whom she dearly missed during her divorce from Sean Penn. The song was dedicated to the American band Sly and the Family Stone. The lyrics deal with the realization of how important Madonna's family has been to her life. A pop, funk and deep funk song consisting of an upbeat rhythm and groove, "Keep It Together" features instrumentation from percussion, banjo and a conga. In United Kingdom and Europe, "Dear Jessie" served as the final single from Like a Prayer and "Keep It Together" was not released there. Some critics alluded that "Keep It Together" was simply Madonna's version of Sister Sledge's hit song "We Are Family". "Keep It Together" was a commercial success, reaching a peak of number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canada chart, while topping the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In Australia, the song reached the top of the charts as a double A side single with "Vogue". "Keep It Together" was performed as the closing song of the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. The performances were inspired by the 1971 Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange and during the introduction, Madonna sang a verse from "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone.

When Madonna started work on her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, she was already in an emotional state of mind, following her split with then husband Sean Penn, her thirtieth birthday, and unfavorable reviews for her acting endeavors. She had certain personal matters on her mind that she thought could be the musical direction of the album. But she understood that as she was growing up, so was her core audience. Feeling the need to try something different, Madonna wanted the sound of her new album to indicate what could be popular in music. However, being raised as a Catholic, Madonna felt guilty about the failure of her marriage. She said, "Because in Catholicism you are a born sinner and you are a sinner all your life. I could not escape my past, nor could I relax". The song was released as the fifth (sixth overall) and final single from the album on January 30, 1990, by Sire Records. "Keep It Together" was one of the first singles to be released in a CD maxi format, accompanied by an assortment of remixes. The radio mix stripped the track of its original instrumentation and added an R&B House beat with the 12" mixes following this style. It was not released in the United Kingdom at all, where "Dear Jessie" served as the album's fourth single instead of "Oh Father" and "Keep It Together" respectively. It was produced by Madonna and Bray, and features Paulinho da Costa on percussion, brass playing by David Boruff and Steven Madaio, Bill Bottrell as the audio engineer and guitars by Chester Kamen. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine noted that the song is influenced by the Sly and the Family Stone track "Family Affair" (1971). It starts as the sound of slap bass plays along with sequenced synth bass, as Madonna sings the opening lines, "Keep, keep it together, keep people together forever and ever". Carol Benz, one of the authors of The Madonna Connection, believed that the song was successful in asserting the necessity of family ties. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography described the track as "an uptempo romp about the trials and tribulations, and the joys of having a family." Martha Bayles, author of Hole In Our Soul, felt that "Keep It Together" failed to become an anthem for emotional commitment, because of the funk nature of the song. Madonna, Unauthorizeds writer Christopher Anderson proclaimed the track as a worthy number one single, and complimented the song's theme of allegiance to one's family, despite the turmoil and dissensions that occur. Lucy O'Brien, author of Madonna: Like an Icon, described it as an "upbeat meditation on sibling power" and believed that the purpose behind the song was to present a homey image of brothers and sisters happy and together, and Madonna's need to restore bonds and relationships that had become fraught or distant in her life then. Bill Coleman from Billboard stated that "the Material Girl rises above the beat and unveils a most riveting vocal performance." Hadley Freeman from The Guardian described "Keep It Together" as "amazing, purely for being Madonna's take on Sister Sledge's 'We Are Family', a concept no one foresaw, and the fact that she later disowned various members of her family gives it, shall we say, an interesting tinge of irony." USA Todays Edna Gunderson wrote that "Keep It Together" evoked an "R&B groove" that was successful in adding more variation to Like a Prayer. Conversely, Ian Blair of the Chicago Tribune thought that the different funk tempo of the song distracted from the emotional quotient of the album. Blair added that the song "hits a groove that is one of the funkiest things Madonna has ever done." Scott Benarde from The Palm Beach Post listed the song as one of the album's "downpour" moments. Writing for The Jerusalem Post, Andy Goldberg from the newspaper listed the song as one of the highlights of the album, and complimented the family oriented lyrics. Bruce Britt from Boca Raton News believed that "Keep It Together" was one of the songs from the album, that exemplified the personal approach to songwriting by Madonna. Spins Joe Levy named the song the only "great" dance record on Like a Prayer, and also observed that "Keep It Together" was a "girly disco" song that drew influences from Sister Sledge's "We Are Family" and Madonna's own "Into the Groove". Stephen Holden from The New York Times believed that the song brought the pop funk style and hippie happiness of Sly and the Family Stone. Journalist J. D. Considine, while reviewing Like a Prayer for Rolling Stone, felt that "Keep It Together" portrayed "an impressive invocation of the importance of family". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic believed that the song constituted of deep funk music. Jose F. Promis from the same website complimented the single mix of the track, calling it one of Madonna's "best and funkiest tunes, and a prime example of late '80s/early '90s dance/house/R&B music". Louis Virtel of The Backlot gave the song a positive review, calling it a "rollicking family reunion" that is the "sunny side of “Oh Father’s” grim familial reckoning." Kenneth Partridge from Billboard described the song as a mid tempo synth funk tune with a "tense" groove, on which Madonna offers an olive branch to her estranged father and siblings.

In the United States, "Keep It Together" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 56, on the issue dated February 3, 1990. The next week, "Keep It Together" jumped to number 41, becoming one of the greatest gaining songs. It eventually peaked at number eight on the Hot 100, on the issue dated March 31, 1990. During the next few weeks, the song fell quickly from its peak as Madonna's next single, "Vogue", began to get massive radio airplay. Its final appearance on the Hot 100 was at number 83 on the issue dated April 28, 1990. "Keep It Together" topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and peaked at number 66 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. and after eight weeks, it peaked at number eight. In Australia, "Keep It Together" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart along with "Vogue". It debuted on the chart at number 19 and reached the top the next week, remaining there for five consecutive weeks. It was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 140,000 copies of the single. After its release in Japan, "Keep It Together" appeared for two weeks on the Oricon Singles Chart, and reached number five. The single was not released in the United Kingdom, where "Dear Jessie" was the final single from Like a Prayer instead.

Madonna has performed the song only on her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, where it was the closing song of the set list. The staging of the performances was inspired by the 1971 science fiction film, A Clockwork Orange. The shows featured an introductory verse from "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone. Author Lynne Layton complimented the performance, saying that "as in her double attitude to materialism, femininity, and everything else, what marks the performance is not that Madonna is in control, but that she is open about the pros and cons of family life and obviously echoes the experience of many." Her thoughts were shared by John LeLand from Newsday, who complimented the aerobics performed onstage by Madonna and her dancers. Conversely, author Allen Metz commented that although the performance was tightly choreographed, the overall feel was marred due to the song's own "shortcomings". Greg Kot from Chicago Tribune felt that the addition of lines from "Family Affair" underlined the "home is where the heart is" theme of "Keep It Together". Louis Virtel from The Backlot praised the performance of the song, stating that it served as the "perfect concluding performance." and the Blond Ambition World Tour Live, filmed in Nice, France, on August 5, 1990. It was also shown on the HBO special titled Madonna Live! – Blond Ambition World Tour, and was added in her 1991 documentary, Truth or Dare.