"A Little Bit of Soap" was written by

Bert Berns 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 ...

(aka Bert Russell), and first sung in a bluesy soul style by

the Jarmels The Jarmels was an American doo wop rhythm and blues group formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia best known for their only hit, 1961’s " A Little Bit of Soap". Career The start of their big break came in 1960 when they were at a local (Richmon ...

, who reached number 12 with it in September 1961 and number 7 on the R&B charts. The song has been covered by many other artists.

Reception

The song was a major hit in the United States when it was first released. It reached the top ten on the Canadian charts, and the top twenty in Australia in 1970 for Paul Davis. It was his first charting single release. "A Little Bit of Soap" was a huge hit in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

when the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

–based group Cliff Foenander and

the Fabulous Echoes ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

released it as a single. It spent 25 weeks at number 1 in top ten charts in 1963 in Southeast Asia. Foenander and the Fabulous Echoes also sang the hit in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in 1964. It made Cliff Foenander a household name in South Asia:

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

, the oldest radio station in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, played the number 1 hit across the Indian subcontinent.

Cover versions

Garnet Mimms Garnet Mimms (born Garrett Mimms, November 16, 1933) is an American singer, influential in soul music and rhythm and blues. He first achieved success as the lead singer of Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters and is best known for the 1963 hit " Cry Bab ...

' 1964 remake of "A Little Bit of Soap", produced by

Jerry Ragovoy Jordan "Jerry" Ragovoy (September 4, 1930 – July 13, 2011) was an American songwriter and record producer who wrote several pop songs including the instrumental " Time Is on My Side" (under the pseudonym of Norman Meade for Kai Winding), which ...

, reached number 95 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in January 1965. *The song's composer

(who wrote many hits including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

classic "

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 Broth ...

"), produced a 1965 redo for

the Exciters The Exciters were an American pop music group of the 1960s. They were originally a girl group, with one male member being added afterwards. At the height of their popularity the group consisted of lead singer Brenda Reid, Herb Rooney, Carolyn J ...

which reached number 58 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1966. * Paul Davis redid the song in 1970, recorded at

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own record ...

. This version, co-produced by Davis with Bert Berns' widow

Ilene Berns Ilene Berns (''née'' Holub; May 1, 1943 – February 20, 2017) was an American record company director. Born to a Jewish family in Cleveland, Ohio, Berns worked as a go-go dancer in New York City nightclubs before meeting her husband Bert Ber ...

, reached number 52 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the summer of 1970. * The Pioneers released a reggae version of "A Little Bit of Soap" in 1973 on

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

. *

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English drummer, best known for being a lifelong member of the Elton John Band. He has had an equally long career as a session musician and composed, recorded and produced albums as a solo artist. Ca ...

's version hit number 34 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 9 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stati ...

in June 1979. The versions by the Exciters, Paul Davis and Nigel Olsson were all recorded for

Bang Records Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. The first letters of their names (Bert, Ahmet, Nesuhi, Gerald) formed the label's name. Forming the ...

, the label which Bert Berns had founded in 1965. *

Showaddywaddy Showaddywaddy are a rock and roll group from Leicester, England. They specialise in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, while also issuing original material. They have spent 209 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, and have had 10 ...

released a version of "A Little Bit of Soap" in 1978, affording the song its sole appearance on the UK Singles Chart as it reached No. 5 in July 1978. *

Daniel Johnston Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in Outsider music, outsider, Lo-fi music, lo-fi, and alternative rock, alternative music scenes. Most ...

also covered it.

Samples

De La Soul De La Soul ( ) is an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York (state), New York in 1988. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evoluti ...

sampled it for a different song with the same name, featured on their debut album, ''

3 Feet High and Rising ''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul, released on February 6, 1989, by Tommy Boy Records. It was the first of three collaborations with the producer Prince Paul, and was the critical and ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Bit of Soap, A 1961 songs 1961 singles 1963 singles 1970 debut singles 1979 singles Songs written by Bert Berns The Jarmels songs The Exciters songs Paul Davis (singer) songs Nigel Olsson songs Showaddywaddy songs Bang Records singles Laurie Records singles Arista Records singles