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"Twist and Shout" is a song written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was covered by The Beatles, with John Lennon on the lead vocals, and originally released on their first album, Please Please Me. The song was covered by The Mamas & the Papas (in the style of a ballad) in 1967 on their album Deliver. It was also covered by Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. Most recently, Chaka Demus and Pliers (featuring Jack Radics and Taxi Gang) reached #1 on the UK charts with their version in January 1994. The Who performed it throughout their career, most notably on Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 and 1982's Who's Last.
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Top Notes' version
In 1961, a year after Phil Spector became a staff producer at Atlantic records, he was asked to produce a single by an up-and-coming vocal group, the Top Notes (sometimes named "Topnotes"): "Twist and Shout." This was before Spector perfected his "Wall of Sound" technique, and the recording lacked all of the energy the group exhibited in its live performances. Songwriter Bert Berns felt Spector had ruined the song, and went out to show Spector how the song should be done.[1]
Isley Brothers' version
When the Isley Brothers decided to record the song in 1962, Berns opted to produce, and thus demonstrate to Spector what he had intended to be the "sound" of the record.[1] The resulting recording captured the verve of an Isley Brothers performance, and became the trio's first record to reach a Top 20 position in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
The Isley Brothers' version, with Ronald Isley on lead vocals, was the first major hit recording of the song, peaking at #17 on the U.S. pop top 40 charts, and #2 on the US R&B charts. The song quickly became a frequently covered R&B tune in the early 1960s. According to Ronald, the song was supposed to be the b-side to the Burt Bacharach standard, "Make It Easy On Yourself", which had been a hit for Jerry Butler. When the Isleys recorded "Twist and Shout", the brothers didn't think the song would do well, as they hadn't had a hit in the three years since "Shout" established them. To their surprise, the song became their first Top 40 hit on both the pop and R&B charts, and for a time established the group's reputation for producing fast-paced songs during their earlier career.
Personnel
- Ronald Isley – lead vocals
- O'Kelly Isley, Jr. – backing vocals
- Rudolph Isley – backing vocals
- Bert Berns – production
The Beatles' version
The Beatles released the song on their first UK album, Please Please Me. The recording session for that album was their first album session, and is notable for ten songs having been recorded in a mere 10 hours (the remaining four songs had previously been released as singles). "Twist and Shout" was the last song recorded; producer George Martin knew John Lennon's voice would suffer from the performance, so he left it until last, with only 15 minutes of scheduled recording time remaining for the album.
Lennon was suffering from a cold, and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. His coughing is audible on the album, and the cold's effect on his voice is audible in this recording. Even so, he produced a memorable vocal performance, a raucous, dynamic rocker. He later said his voice was not the same for a long time afterward, and that "every time [he] swallowed, it felt like sandpaper."[2]
Two takes were recorded, and the first take is heard on the album. George Martin said, "I did try a second take ... but John's voice had gone."[3]
This is one of The Beatles' first songs featuring the group singing in harmony, which would become a trademark of the early Beatles and "Beatlemania".
The Beatles' cover was released on 2 March 1964 in the U.S. as a single, with "There's a Place" as its B-side[4], by Vee-Jay Records on the Tollie label. It reached #2 on 4 April 1964, during the week that the top five places on the chart were all Beatles singles. (In the Cashbox singles chart for the same week, "Twist and Shout" was #1.) In the United States, "Twist and Shout" was the only million-selling Beatles single that was a cover record, and the only Beatles cover single to reach the Top 10 on a national record chart.
In the UK, "Twist and Shout" was released on an EP with three other tracks from the Please Please Me album. Both the EP and Album reached #1 (see Twist and Shout (EP)). In Canada, it became the title track to the second album of Beatles material to be issued by Capitol Records of Canada on February 3, 1964.
It is regarded as one of the finest examples of British rock and roll for its vocal performance.[5] The song was used as a rousing closing number on Sunday Night at the London Palladium in October 1963 and at The Royal Variety Show in November 1963, the former signalling the start of "Beatlemania". They performed it on their Ed Sullivan Show appearance in February 1964.
The Beatles continued to play the song live until the end of their August 1965 tour of North America. Additionally, they recorded "Twist and Shout" on nine occasions for BBC television and radio broadcasts, the earliest of which was for the Talent Spot radio show on 27 November 1962.[6]
1986 recharting
The Beatles' version of the song enjoyed a resurgence of popularity in 1986 after Matthew Broderick lip synced it 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 and patterned after the Beatles' arrangement. The use in the two films help propel the single up the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at #23 that summer, giving the group their second chart single of the 1980s (the other being "The Beatles Movie Medley" in 1982). The song's seven week run in the U.S. Top 40 in 1986, combined with its original 16-week run in 1964, makes Twist And Shout the longest running Top 40 hit for the Beatles at 23 weeks.
Personnel
- John Lennon – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocals
- George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums
Brian Poole and the Tremeloes' version
In 1962 the Decca label signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, a British group from Dagenham, Essex, in preference to The Beatles. Both groups 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 in British rock 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" four months after The Beatles had released their version, and achieved the number 4 position in the UK Singles Chart.[7]
Other cover versions
- In 1963, The Searchers covered the song on the album Meet the Searchers.
- In 1964 The Iguanas covered the song on the album Jumpin' with the Iguanas.
- In 1988 Salt n Pepa recorded a cover version on their album A Salt With a Deadly Pepa. It was released as a single in the UK, and reached #4.
- The Who covered the song live during their career, with Roger Daltrey singing lead vocals at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, and on their 1982 Farewell Tour [8], with John Entwistle singing lead. The 1982 version can be heard on the live album Who's Last.
- Bruce Springsteen has frequently played "Twist and Shout" live (including the Magic Tour in 2008.), usually as an encore, and the song is readily available on bootlegs.
- The song was covered as a part of the Backbeat soundtrack by a supergroup consisting of Dave Grohl, Dave Pirner, Thurston Moore, Mike Mills, Greg Dulli and Don Fleming (of Gumball).
- ELO spin-off group The Orchestra recorded a 6:36 version on their 2001 album No Rewind, starting with slow, picked chords before picking up the famous riff.
- Jack Nitzsche and His Orchestra included "Twist and Shout" on his 1964 release of Beatles instrumentals, Dance To The Hits of The Beatles on Reprise Records. It is now available on CD.
- The Troggs recorded a "Louie Louie/Hang on Sloopy/Twist & Shout" medley.
- Alejandra Guzmán recorded a Spanish language song with the same melody called "Twist y gritos".
- On their debut album N.W.A. and the Posse, Gangsta Rap group N.W.A. recorded "Drink It Up", which sampled the Isley Brothers' version of "Twist and Shout".
- Bosnian band Crvena Jabuka recorded a Serbo-Croatian version of the song in the late 1980s called "Svidja Mi Se Ova Stvar (Twist and Shout)".
- The Punkles did a punk cover of this song on their first album.
- Chuck Berry covered that song on his tour, which was recorded for his album Toronto Rock 'N' Roll Revival 1969 Vol. II.
- Booker T. & the M.G.s included an instrumental version of this song on their 1962 album, Green Onions.
- Diplo unofficially remixed The Beatles' version of the song in 2006.
- Bon Jovi covered the song on their Lost Highway Tour in 2008 and in their concert in Central Park.
- Mookie Morris from Canadian Idol 6 performed this song in the semi-finals.
- Plan B also did a version of this song in their first live performance in 2008.
- The View did a version of this song in their last live performance of 2008 in Dundee.
- Mae West covered the song on her album Way Out West.
Appearances in the media
- In an episode of Full House, Jesse persuades Michelle's class to sing "Twist and Shout" rather than "The Wheels on the Bus".[citation needed]
- In an episode of A Different World, Whitley sings "Twist and Shout" on top of a bar when she and Kim decide to go out during their Thanksgiving break.
- In the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Benjamin and Daisy watch the Beatles' performance of the song on The Ed Sullivan Show.
- The Beatles' version is used in the game Karaoke Revolution Volume 3.
- On Strictly Come Dancing the song was danced to by John Sergeant and Kristina Rhianoff.
- The Beatles's version is used in a commercial for WSBE, PBS KIDS.
- It is also sung by Coventry City, Preston North End, West Ham United and Barnet fans, and played before games.
- In the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) engages an entire parade and downtown Chicago in song and dance to "Twist and Shout".
- In the TV movie The Jacksons: An American Dream, The Jackson 5 is shown performing the song at a high school talent show.
- It is the opening track in the Career mode of The Beatles: Rock Band.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b "The Atlantic Story". http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlanticstory.html.
- ^ The Beatles. The Beatles Anthology. Chronicle Books, LLC, 2000.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions
- ^ USA Discography
- ^ Ian Macdonald, Revolution In The Head, p.67
- ^ "The Beatles Bible: Twist And Shout". http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/twist-and-shout/. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 565. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Live Performance
- ^ imdb.com
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| Preceded by "Mr Blobby" by Mr Blobby |
UK Singles Chart Number 1 single by Chaka Demus and Pliers January 2, 1994 for 2 weeks |
Succeeded by "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream |
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