| "Keep It Together" | ||||
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| Single by Madonna | ||||
| from the album Like a Prayer | ||||
| Released | January 30, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
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| Length | 5:03 | |||
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| Madonna singles chronology | ||||
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| "Keep It Together" on YouTube | ||||
"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.