"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 for their album ''
Twist & Shout'' in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, 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 ...
,
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...
, and
Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
Original version
The Top Notes, an American
R&B vocal group, recorded "Twist and Shout" at the
Atlantic Studios on February 23, 1961. The session was arranged by
Teddy Randazzo and produced by
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
. The Top Notes' Howard "Howie" Guyton provided the lead vocals, with accompaniment by saxophonist
King Curtis
Curtis Montgomery (February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musician, he was also a musi ...
, guitarist
John Pizzarelli, drummer
Panama Francis
David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s.
Early life
Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...
, and backing vocalists
the Cookies.
In a song review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
,
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...
described the Top Notes recording as "a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
-tinged raveup with a drab generic R&B melody" that he felt was "not very good".
[
] Bert Berns, the song's co-writer, was dissatisfied with the recording and Spector's production.
[
] It failed to chart.
The Isley Brothers version
When
the Isley Brothers decided to record the song in 1962 for their album ''
Twist & Shout'', Berns (who also used the name Bert Russell) assumed the role of producer. According to Unterberger, the new arrangement infused the tune with more "
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
-fired soul passion":
"Twist and Shout" became the group's first single to reach the Top 20 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart.
This version of the song was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.
Personnel
*Lead vocals by
Ronald Isley
*Background vocals by
Rudolph Isley and
O'Kelly Isley Jr.
Charts
The Beatles version
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 ...
' rendition of "Twist and Shout" was released on their first UK album ''
Please Please Me'' in 1963, inspired by the Isley Brothers' version.
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
provided the lead vocals and initially felt ashamed of his performance in the song "because I could sing better than that, but now it doesn't bother me. You can hear that I'm just a frantic guy doing his best." A second take was attempted, but Lennon had nothing left due to a
hoarse voice, and it was abandoned.
At the end of the song, Lennon can be heard coughing. The Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" has been called "the most famous single take in
rock history."
Mark Lewisohn
Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps. called it "arguably the most stunning
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
vocal and instrumental performance of all time."
The song was released as a single in the US on March 2, 1964, with "
There's a Place" as its B-side. It was released by Chicago-based
Vee-Jay Records
Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
The label was founded in Gary, Indiana, in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...
on the
Tollie label and reached 2 on
''Billboard'''s singles chart on April 4, during the week that the top five places on the chart were all Beatles singles.
It was the only million-selling Beatles single in the U.S. that was a cover song, and the only Beatles cover single to reach the top 10 on a national record chart. The song failed to hit No. 1 because the group's own follow-up single "
Can't Buy Me Love" held the spot.
''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' rated the song No. 1 that same week.
In the UK, "Twist and Shout" was released by
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
on an
eponymous EP with "
Do You Want to Know a Secret", "
A Taste of Honey", and "There's a Place" from the ''Please Please Me'' (1963) album. Both the EP and album reached No. 1. In Canada, it became the title track to the
second album of Beatles material to be issued by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
of Canada on February 3, 1964.
The song was used as the Beatles' closing number on ''
Sunday Night at the London Palladium'' in October 1963 and at ''
The Royal Variety Show'' in November 1963; the ''Royal Variety'' performance was included on the ''
Anthology 1'' compilation album in 1995. The Beatles performed the song on their ''
Ed Sullivan Show'' appearance in February 1964, and they continued to play it live until the end of their 1965 American tour. Additionally, they recorded "Twist and Shout" on nine occasions for
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television and radio broadcasts, the earliest of which was for the ''Talent Spot'' radio show on November 27, 1962.
In 1986, Ferris Bueller (
Matthew Broderick)
lip-synced to the Beatles' version of the song in the film ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. Coincidentally, the
Rodney Dangerfield film ''
Back to School'' (released two days after ''Ferris'') also featured the song, this one sung by Dangerfield himself in character as Thornton Mellon and patterned after the Beatles' arrangement. The use in the two films helped propel the single up the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 23 at the issue date September 27, 1986, giving the group their second chart single of the 1980s (the other being "
The Beatles' Movie Medley" in 1982).
In 2008, the Beatles' version was voted second best cover song in a poll by ''
Total Guitar''.
In November 2010, 47 years after its recording, the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" made a debut on the
UK singles chart. One of a number of Beatles tracks re-entering the chart in the aftermath of their new availability on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, it peaked at No. 48.
Personnel
Credits by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon
*
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
– lead vocals,
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
*
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
– backing vocals, bass
*
George Harrison
George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...
– backing vocals, electric guitar
*
Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...
– drums
Charts
Certifications
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes version
In 1962,
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
signed
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, a British group from
Dagenham
Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross.
It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...
, East London, in preference to the Beatles. Both groups had auditioned on the same day, and it has become legend that the Beatles were
rejected by the label. Ironically, Brian Poole and the Tremeloes had no chart success until the
beat boom
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a British popular music genre that developed around Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The genre melded influences from British and American rock and roll, rhythm and blues, skiffle, tradit ...
in
British rock had surfaced, following the success of the Beatles. This triggered the frenzied signing of most of the popular Liverpool rock groups of that period by the major record labels, and their distinctive "sound" became known as
Merseybeat. Brian Poole and the Tremeloes imitated this style, and covered "Twist and Shout" for their album of the same name four months after the Beatles had released their version, and achieved the No. 4 position in the UK Singles Chart.
However, according to
Brian Poole, "we were doing 'Twist and Shout' on stage before we knew anybody else doing it and we felt we could have a hit with it. Unfortunately, we had it in the can for about a year before Decca decided to release it as a single".
Charts
Sylvie Vartan version
In 1963, the song was adapted into
French by
Georges Aber as "Twiste et chante", meaning "Twist and sing" and was recorded by
French pop singer
Sylvie Vartan
Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian on 15 August 1944) is a Bulgarians in France, Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured ela ...
and was released as the third and final single off of her
sophomore album of the same name that October. The song peaked at Number 8 in the French Belgian charts in February 1964.
A
promotional video was also filmed for the song. Vartan also performed the song on the American variety music program ''
Shindig!'' on March 24, 1965 along with a cover of
Barrett Strong
Barrett Strong Jr. (February 5, 1941 – January 28, 2023) was an American singer and songwriter known for his recording of "Money (That's What I Want)", which was the first hit single for the Motown record label. He is also known for his songw ...
's "
Money (That's What I Want)
"Money (That's What I Want)" is a rhythm and blues song written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford, which was the first hit record for Gordy's Motown enterprise. Barrett Strong recorded it in 1959 as a single for the Tamla label, ...
" (in English).
Charts
Salt-N-Pepa version
American
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
trio
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...
recorded a cover version on their 1988 album ''
A Salt with a Deadly Pepa''. It was released as a single and was met with success, reaching the top five in Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, where it reached No. 4, as well as the top 40 in Belgium and West Germany and on the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Chaka Demus & Pliers version
Jamaican
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
duo
Chaka Demus & Pliers, collaborating with Jack Radics and
Taxi Gang, recorded "Twist and Shout" for their fourth album, ''
Tease Me'' (1993). It was released as single on December 6, 1993 by
Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
and
Island
An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
, and topped the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1994. The song was also a top-10 hit in Ireland (No. 9),
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
(No. 7), the Netherlands (No. 6), Denmark (No. 4), and New Zealand (No. 2). It was nominated in the category for Tune of the Year at the International Dance Awards 1995.
Critical reception
Rick Anderson from AllMusic named the song "a fun novelty".
Larry Flick from ''Billboard'' magazine wrote, "Who'da thunk this Beatles evergreen would become viable fodder for a reggae reconstruction? It has, and it works far better than you might imagine." He added, "With assistance from Jack Radis and Taxi Gang, Chaka Demus & Pliers playfully skip around a fast and jaunty island groove, darting in and out of familiar lyrics with bits of chatter and
toasting. Visionary programmers will find this will flow over playlists like a fresh, cool breeze." Troy J. Augusto from ''Cash Box'' declared it as an "infectious cut", that "add peppy new island life to this classic made famous, of course, by The Beatles."
In a review for the ''
Gavin Report'', Dave Sholin commented, "Summertime—time to hit the beach and party! And what better for the occasion than this upbeat production that puts a new twist on the Isley Brothers' original and Beatles' cover?" Alan Jones from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' named it a "fine reggae re-reading", that "contains all the usual Chaka Demus & Pliers hallmarks, with sweetly cooed verses alternating with rapped passages. Just right for the party season."
James Hamilton from the ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...
'' Dance Update described it as a
La Bamba' based raver's reggae inflected but surprisingly conventional
Sly & Robbie revival, a party season smash". Leesa Daniels from ''
Smash Hits'' gave "Twist and Shout" three out of five, writing, "''The'' tune at Christmas parties this year. Chaka and Pliers and a few mates have made a mega mover of a groover."
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Other charting versions
Vianey Valdez had a top ten hit in Mexico with her version, "Muevanse Todos". It got to no. 4 for the week of 1 August 1964.
[''Billboard'', August 1, 1964 ]
Page 40 Billboard ''HITS OF THE WORLD'', MEXICO, THIS WEEK 4, LAST WEEK 5, MUEVANSE TODOS
/ref>
See also
* List of twist songs
Notes
References
*
{{Authority control
1961 songs
1962 singles
1964 singles
1986 singles
1993 singles
Song recordings produced by George Martin
Cashbox number-one singles
UK singles chart number-one singles
Music Week number-one dance singles
Number-one singles in Finland
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs written by Bert Berns
Songs written by Phil Medley
The Beatles songs
Chaka Demus & Pliers songs
The Isley Brothers songs
The Kingsmen songs
The Mamas and the Papas songs
Salt-N-Pepa songs
The Tremeloes songs
Vianey Valdez songs
Song recordings produced by Sly & Robbie
Capitol Records singles
Tollie Records singles
Atlantic Records singles
MCA Records singles
Mango Records singles
Parlophone singles
Decca Records singles
Island Records singles
Twist (dance)
Songs about dancing
Wand Records singles
Music published by MPL Music Publishing
Song recordings produced by Mike Smith (British record producer)