Twist and Shout

In 1961, one 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. This was before Spector perfected his "Wall of Sound" technique, and the recording, at the Atlantic Studios on February 23, 1961, arranged by Teddy Randazzo with musicians including saxophonist King Curtis, guitarist John Pizzarelli, and drummer Panama Francis, with backing vocals by the Cookies,[1] lacked much of the energy the Top Notes exhibited in their live performances.

The Top Notes included singers Howard "Howie" Guyton (also known as Guy Howard), a cousin of Dave "Baby" Cortez; and Derek Martin, also known as Derek Ray.[2] Guyton provided the lead vocals on "Twist and Shout".[3] Guyton, Martin and Cortez had previously all been members of vocal groups the Pearls (also known as the Five Pearls) in their home city of Detroit, and then of the Sheiks in New York;[2] and Guyton and Martin later recorded as members of Jimmy Ricks & the Raves. Derek Martin later recorded a succession of singles, mostly on the Roulette label, in the 1960s and early 1970s, including a version of Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rollin' Stone", before moving to live in France where he has continued to perform.[4][5] Guyton later sang in a touring version of the Platters, and died of a heart attack in 1977, aged 39, while touring in Argentina.[6]

Songwriter Bert Berns felt Spector had ruined the song and went out to show Spector how it should be done.[7]

"Twist and Shout"
US single of the Isley Brothers recording
Single by the Isley Brothers
B-side	"Spanish Twist"
Released	June 16, 1962 (1962-06-16)
Format	7-inch single
Recorded	New York City, 1962
Genre	Rock and roll R&B
Length	2:27
Label	Wand
Songwriter(s)	Phil Medley Bert Russell
Producer(s)	Bert Russell
The Isley Brothers singles chronology
"Shout" (1962) "Twist and Shout" (1962) "Twistin' With Linda" (1962)

When the Isley Brothers decided to record the song in 1962, Bert Berns (who also used the name Bert Russell) opted to produce, and thus demonstrate to Spector what he had intended to be the "sound" of the record.[7] 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 No. 17 on the U.S. pop top 40 charts, and No. 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 did not think the song would do well, as they had not had a hit in the three years since "Shout" established them. To their surprise, it 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.

"Twist and Shout"
US single of the Beatles recording
Single by the Beatles
B-side	"There's a Place"
Released	22 March 1963 (1963-03-22) (UK Please Please Me album) 2 March 1964 (US single)
Recorded	February 11, 1963
Studio	EMI, London
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:32
Label	Parlophone (UK) Tollie (US)
Songwriter(s)	Phil Medley Bert Russell
Producer(s)	George Martin
The Beatles US singles chronology
"I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1963) "Twist and Shout" (1963) "Can't Buy Me Love" (1964)

The Beatles' rendition of "Twist and Shout" was released on their first UK album Please Please Me, based on the Isley Brothers' version and featuring John Lennon on lead vocals. The song was the last to be recorded during the marathon 13-hour album session; producer George Martin knew that Lennon's voice would suffer from the performance, so he left it until last, with only 15 minutes of scheduled recording time remaining. Lennon had a cold and was drinking milk and sucking on cough drops to soothe his throat. His coughing is audible on the album, as is the cold's effect on his voice. He remarked that his voice was not the same for a long time afterward, and that it "felt like sandpaper" to swallow.[8] He 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, and it was abandoned.[9]

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 on the Tollie label and reached number two 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 number one because the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" held the spot.

In the UK, "Twist and Shout" was released by Parlophone on an 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 number one. 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.[10] The song was used as a 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 television and radio broadcasts, the earliest of which was for the Talent Spot radio show on November 27, 1962. The intro sounds very similar to "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (which is comically evident in the 1987 movie Born in East L.A. as Cheech Marin's character is teaching the song to a group of Mexican guitar players when they realize it sounds like "La Bamba" and begin singing it), and the famous vocal buildup resembles "Do You Love Me" by the Contours.

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[21]	Gold	25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[22]	Gold	400,000
United States (RIAA)[23]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

English rock band the Who covered the song live during their career, with Roger Daltrey singing lead vocals on the first version which is on the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, and on their 1982 Farewell Tour, with their bassist John Entwistle singing the lead vocals. The 1982 version can be heard on the live album Who's Last (recorded at the Richfield Coliseum on December 14, 1982 and released in November 1984), Live From Toronto (recorded at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on December 17, 1982 and released in 2006), as well as on the 1994 compilation Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (recorded at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on December 16, 1982, misdated in the liner notes for the concert at Toronto's CNE stadium on October 9, 1982).

In 1962, Decca Records signed Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, a British group from Dagenham, 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 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" four months after the Beatles had released their version, and achieved the number four position in the UK Singles Chart.[24]

American hip hop trio Salt-N-Pepa 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 ten in Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, where it reached number four, as well as the top 40 in Ireland, Belgium and Germany.

Jamaican reggae duo Chaka Demus & Pliers covered "Twist and Shout" for their fourth album, Tease Me. It was released as a single in 1993 and was a huge success in the UK, where the song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also a top-ten hit in Ireland (No. 9), the Netherlands (No. 8), Belgium (No. 7), Denmark (No. 4) and New Zealand (No. 2).

• 1962: Booker T. & The MG's covered the song for their album Green Onions.
• 1964: The Shangri-Las covered the song for their album Leader of The Pack. It was the B-side to their hit single "Give Him a Great Big Kiss".

• "Twist and Shout" (Deacon Blue song)
• Twist songs

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics