Philip Medley (April 9, 1916 – October 3, 1997) was an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

, notable for his composition "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

", which he wrote along with

Bert Russell Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include " Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

. The song was made famous by both

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

and

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. Medley also wrote " A Million to One" and co-wrote, always with Russell, "If I Didn't Have a Dime" for Gene Pitney. He was also a co-writer of the song "Killer Joe", recorded by many bands including the Rocky Fellers, the Rivieras and the Kingsmen. In 1994, he played guitar for

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

at the Great Oak Farm Benefit. He wrote "Styrofoam Airplane". His niece is singer Sharon Brown, who had a top ten hit on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart in 1982 with the song "

I Specialize in Love "I Specialize in Love" is a song written by Lotti Golden and Richard Scher. Mixed by Tee Scott, the song was a club hit in the early 1980s when recorded by American singer Sharon Brown, the niece of songwriter Phil Medley. Released as a single ...

". Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''Hot Dance/Disco 1974-2003'', (Record Research Inc.), page 46.

References

1916 births 1997 deaths American male songwriters 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-songwriter-stub