Shout (Isley Brothers song)

In performances around 1958, the Isley Brothers would typically end their shows with a cover version of Jackie Wilson's hit "Lonely Teardrops". At one performance at the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia, lead singer Ronald Isley could see the audience standing and yelling their approval, so he extended the song by improvising a call-and-response around the words "You know you make me wanna..." "Shout!". The group developed the song further in later performances and rehearsals, using a drawn out "We-eee-ll" copied from Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman". On returning to New York City at the end of their engagement, they suggested to record producers Hugo & Luigi that they record the "Shout!" climax of the performance as a separate song. The producers agreed and suggested that the band invite friends to the recording studio to generate a party atmosphere.[2]

The recording took place on July 29, 1959, with Hugo and Luigi choosing the studio musicians and the Isley Brothers inviting organist Herman Stephens. Released in August 1959, with the song split over both sides of the record, the single reached number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's first chart hit,[3] and later the brothers' first gold single on the basis of its longevity. Ronald Isley later said that church groups wrote to radio stations asking them to stop playing the record, because of its use of a traditional black gospel sound.[2]

One month after the initial release, Johnny O'Keefe performed the song on his Australian TV show Six O'Clock Rock. He released it as a single, which reached number two in Australia – his 1964 re-recording was only a minor hit at number 49.[4] Joey Dee and the Starliters reached number six with their recording of the song in 1962 (they also reworked the chorus portion of the song into an even bigger hit, "Peppermint Twist"), while the Isley Brothers' version re-charted that same year at number 94.

In the U.K. in 1964, a version by Scottish pop singer Lulu reached number seven (attributed to Lulu and the Luvvers).[5] She re-recorded the song in 1986 and it reached number eight.[5] The Shangri-Las included a version of the song in their debut LP Leader of the Pack[6] in 1965. Tommy James and the Shondells recorded a version of the song on their 1967 album, I Think We're Alone Now.[7]

"Shout" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 118 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• List of recorded versions, SecondhandSongs.com