I 'll Keep Holding on - wikipedia I 'll Keep Holding on This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( October 2015 ) For the Simply Red song that uses the repetitive line `` I 'll keep holding on '' in the chorus, see Holding Back the Years. `` I 'll Keep Holding On '' Single by The Marvelettes B - side `` No Time for Tears '' Released May 11, 1965 Format 7 '' single Recorded 1965, Bell Sound Studios, New York City & Hitsville USA Genre Soul Label Tamla Songwriter ( s ) William `` Mickey '' Stevenson Ivy Jo Hunter Producer ( s ) William `` Mickey '' Stevenson, Ivy Jo Hunter The Marvelettes singles chronology `` Too Many Fish in the Sea '' ( 1964 ) `` I 'll Keep Holding On '' ( 1965 ) `` Danger : Heartbreak Dead Ahead '' ( 1965 ) `` Too Many Fish in the Sea '' ( 1964 ) `` I 'll Keep Holding On '' ( 1965 ) `` Danger : Heartbreak Dead Ahead '' ( 1965 ) `` I 'll Keep Holding On '' is a song composed by Mickey Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter and recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who released the single on the Tamla imprint in 1965. Peaking at # 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 ( and # 11 on the R&B charts ), the single returned the group to the top forty after a year recording songs that performed below the top forty. This was among the first A-side singles that longtime Marvelettes member Wanda Young sung lead on. Before 1965, the majority of the leads in Marvelettes songs had belonged to original member Gladys Horton. The single features a woman determined to win the love of an unknowingly conquest telling him that she 'll convince him to love her `` until my will to resist is gone ''. Her Marvelettes band mates Gladys Horton and Katherine Anderson egg her on with her ad - libbing `` oh yeah / sho ' nuff '' in the bridge leading up to the chorus. The single was covered by British mod - pop act, The Action in 1966, released as `` I 'll Keep On Holding On ''. It then returned across the Atlantic in 1998 to be released on Mink Rat or Rabbit by the Detroit Cobras. Credits Lead vocals by Wanda Young Background vocals by Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson and The Andantes ( Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, Louvain Demps ) Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers Drums by Benny Benjamin References Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2004 ). Top R&B / Hip - Hop Singles : 1942 - 2004. Record Research. p. 379. Jump up ^ Allmusic The Marvelettes Gladys Horton Katherine Anderson Wanda Young Ann Bogan Georgeanna Tillman Wyanetta Cowart Georgia Dobbins Albums Please Mr. Postman ( 1961 ) The Marvelettes Sing aka Smash Hits of ' 62 ( 1962 ) Playboy ( 1962 ) The Marvelous Marvelettes ( 1963 ) The Marvelettes Recorded Live on Stage ( 1963 ) The Marvelettes Greatest Hits ( 1966 ) The Marvelettes ( 1967 ) Sophisticated Soul ( 1968 ) In Full Bloom ( 1969 ) The Return of The Marvelettes ( 1970 ) The Marvelettes Anthology ( 1975 ) The Best of The Marvelettes ( 1975 ) Singles ( US / UK Top 40 ) `` Please Mr. Postman '' ( 1961 ) `` Twistin ' Postman '' ( 1961 ) `` Playboy '' ( 1962 ) `` Beechwood 4 - 5789 '' ( 1962 ) `` Too Many Fish in the Sea '' ( 1965 ) `` I 'll Keep Holding On '' ( 1965 ) `` Do n't Mess with Bill '' ( 1966 ) `` The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game '' ( 1967 ) `` When You 're Young and in Love '' ( 1967 ) `` My Baby Must Be a Magician '' ( 1968 ) Categories Albums Songs Book : The Marvelettes Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27ll_Keep_Holding_On&oldid=786925828 '' Categories : 1965 singles The Marvelettes songs Songs written by William `` Mickey '' Stevenson Songs written by Ivy Jo Hunter Tamla Records singles 1965 songs 1966 singles Song recordings produced by Ivy Jo Hunter Song recordings produced by William `` Mickey '' Stevenson Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from October 2015 All articles needing additional references Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 22 June 2017, at 11 : 48. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who sings the original i'll keep holding on
Answer: Motown singing group The Marvelettes