Twist and Shout#The Beatles' 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.{{efn|In 1961, Spector was staff producer at Atlantic Records, before he developed his trademark "Wall of Sound".}} The Top Notes' Howard "Howie" Guyton provided the lead vocals,{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQJ1AQAAQBAJ&q=%22the+pearls%22+guyton+notes&pg=PA228 |via=Google Books| title=Who Did It First?: Great Rhythm and Blues Cover Songs and Their Original Artists| last=Leszczak| first=Bob| page=228| year=2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press | isbn=978-0810888678}} with accompaniment by saxophonist King Curtis, guitarist John Pizzarelli, drummer Panama Francis, and backing vocalists the Cookies.{{cite book| title=Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues| last=Selvin| first=Joel| page=369| year=2014| publisher=Catapult| isbn=978-1619023789}}

In a song review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger described the Top Notes recording as "a Latin-tinged raveup with a drab generic R&B melody" that he felt was "not very good".

{{cite web

| url = https://www.allmusic.com/song/twist-and-shout-mt0002802210

| last = Unterberger

| first = Richie

| author-link = Richie Unterberger

| title = The Isley Brothers: 'Twist and Shout'{{snd}}Review

| website = AllMusic

| access-date = October 23, 2020

}} Bert Berns, the song's co-writer, was dissatisfied with the recording and Spector's production.

{{cite web

| url = http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atlanticstory.html

| first1 = David

| last1 = Edwards

| first2 = Mike

| last2 = Callahan

| title = The Atlantic Records Story

| website = Bsnpubs.com

| access-date = March 31, 2014

}} It failed to chart.{{Cite book |last=Padgett |first=Ray |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/978537907 |title=Cover me : the stories behind the greatest cover songs of all time |date=2017 |isbn=978-1-4549-2250-6 |location=New York City|publisher=Sterling Publishing|pages=26–35 |oclc=978537907}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Twist and Shout

| cover = Twist and Shout by The Isley Brothers US vinyl 1962.jpg

| type = single

| artist = the Isley Brothers

| B-side = Spanish Twist

| released = {{Start date|1962|05}}

| recorded = New York City, 1962

| album = Twist & Shout

| studio =

| genre =

• Rock and roll
• R&B

| length = {{Duration|2:27}}

| label = Wand

| writer =

• Phil Medley
• Bert Russell

| producer = Bert Russell

| prev_title = Shout

| prev_year = 1962

| next_title = Twistin' With Linda

| next_year = 1962

}}

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-fired soul passion":

{{blockquote|[T]he real master trick of this rearrangement was a new bridge consisting solely of four ascending sung notes, the tempo becoming more emphatic and dramatic, ending in exultant sustained whooping before a "shake it up baby" led the Isleys back into the verse.}}

"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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#t|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}

• Lead vocals by Ronald Isley
• Background vocals by Rudolph Isley and O'Kelly Isley Jr.

{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2021}}

{{anchor|The Beatles' version}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Twist and Shout

| image = Twist and Shout by The Beatles Side-A US vinyl.png

| alt =

| caption = US single of the Beatles recording

| type = single

| artist = the Beatles

| B-side = There's a Place

| released =

• {{Start date|1963|03|22}} (UK Please Please Me album)
• March 2, 1964 (US single)

| recorded = February 11, 1963

| album = Please Please Me

| studio = EMI, London

| genre = Rock and roll

| length = 2:32

| label =

• Parlophone (UK)
• Tollie (US)

| writer =

• Phil Medley
• Bert Russell

| producer = George Martin

| chronology = The Beatles US

| prev_title = My Bonnie

| prev_year = 1964

| title = Twist and Shout

| year = 1964

| next_title = Can't Buy Me Love

| next_year = 1964

}}

The Beatles' 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 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.{{cite book |first=Ian |last=MacDonald |title=Revolution in the Head}} 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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/please-please-me-mw0000649873|title=Please Please Me - The Beatles |publisher=AllMusic}} Mark Lewisohn called it "arguably the most stunning rock and roll vocal and instrumental performance of all time."{{cite book |last1=Lewisohn |first1=Mark |title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions |date=1988 |publisher=EMI |location=London |page=26}}

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 {{abbr|No.|Number}} 2 on Billboard's singles chart on April 4, during the week that the top five places on the chart were all Beatles singles.{{Cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-7119-8308-9 |pages=136 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Miles |first=Barry |title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-7119-8308-9 |pages=139 |language=en}} 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.Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record, pp. 291–293. ISBN 0-671-45682-2. 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 rated the song No. 1 that same week.Cash Box, April 4, 1964, p. 4

In the UK, "Twist and Shout" was released by Parlophone 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 of Canada on February 3, 1964.{{Cite web |title=The Capitol 6000 website - The Beatles' First Stereo LP |url=http://www.capitol6000.com/stereo.html |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=www.capitol6000.com}}

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 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).{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits |publisher=Billboard Books |location=New York |year=1992}}

In 2008, The Beatles' version was voted second best cover song in a poll by Total Guitar.{{cite web |title=TG's Best Covers EVER! |url=https://www.musicradar.com/totalguitar/tgs-best-covers-ever-247854 |website=Music Radar |access-date=29 April 2025}}

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, it peaked at No. 48.

===Personnel===

Credits by Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon{{sfn|Guesdon|Margotin|2013|pp=24–56}}

• John Lennon – lead vocals, acoustic guitar{{Cite book |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |url=http://archive.org/details/revolutioninhead0000macd |title=Revolution in the head : the Beatles' records and the sixties |date=1994 |publisher=New York : H. Holt |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8050-2780-8}}
• Paul McCartney – backing vocals, bass
• George Harrison – backing vocals, electric guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=The Beatles|title=Twist and Shout|award=Gold|relyear=1964|certyear=2019|type=single|id=6315|access-date=February 25, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Beatles|title=Twist and Shout|award=Platinum|relyear=2022|certyear=2022|type=single|source=radioscope|access-date=January 1, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1964|certyear=2024|id=the-beatles-twist-and-shout|artist=The Beatles|title=Twist and Shout|accessdate=1 January 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Beatles|title=Twist and Shout|award=Platinum|relyear=2010|certyear=2022|type=single|id=7828-1786-1|access-date=April 1, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=The Beatles|title=Twist and Shout|award=Platinum|relyear=1964|certyear=2014|type=single|access-date=May 14, 2016}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Twist and Shout

| cover = Brian_Poole_and_The_Tremeloes_Twist_and_Shout.jpg

| type = single

| artist = Brian Poole and the Tremeloes

| album = Twist and Shout

| B-side = We Know

| released = {{Start date|1963|6}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = Rock and roll

| length = 2:07

| label = Decca

| writer =

• Bert Berns
• Phil Medley

| producer = Mike Smith

| prev_title = Keep On Dancing

| prev_year = 1963

| next_title = Do You Love Me

| next_year = 1963

}}

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" 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.{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 565}}

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".{{Cite book |last=Leigh |first=Spencer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jfYPDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT70 |title=Love Me Do to Love Me Don't: Beatles on Record |date=2016-09-12 |publisher=McNidder & Grace |isbn=978-0-85716-135-2 |language=en}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Twist and Shout

| cover = Salt-N-Pepa_Twist_and_Shout.jpg

| type = single

| artist = Salt-N-Pepa

| album = A Salt with a Deadly Pepa

| B-side = Get Up Everybody

| released = {{Start date|1988|10}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = Hip hop

| length = 3:48

| label = FFRR

| writer =

• Bert Berns
• Phil Medley

| producer = Hurby Luv Bug Azor

| prev_title = Shake Your Thang

| prev_year = 1988

| next_title = Expression

| next_year = 1989

}}

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 five in Spain, the Netherlands and the UK, where it reached No. 4, as well as the top 40 in Belgium and Germany and on the Irish Singles Chart.

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{{Infobox song

| name = Twist and Shout

| cover = Chaka_Demus_&_Pliers_Twist_and_Shout.jpg

| type = single

| artist = Chaka Demus & Pliers featuring Jack Radics and Taxi Gang

| album = Tease Me

| released = {{start date|1993|12|6}}{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-12-04.pdf|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=21|date=December 4, 1993|access-date=June 21, 2021}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = Reggae fusion

| length = {{Duration|3:58}}

| label =

• Mango
• Island

| writer =

• Bert Berns
• Phil Medley

| producer =

• Lloyd "Gitsy" Willis
• Sly & Robbie

| chronology = Chaka Demus & Pliers

| prev_title = She Don't Let Nobody

| prev_year = 1993

| next_title = Murder She Wrote

| next_year = 1994

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|x90NoBIW87Q|"Twist and Shout"}}}}

}}

Jamaican reggae 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 and Island, 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 (No. 7), the Netherlands (No. 6), Denmark (No. 4), and New Zealand (No. 2).

Rick Anderson from AllMusic felt the song is "a fun novelty".{{cite web|first= Rick |last= Anderson |title= Chaka Demus & Pliers – Ultimate Collection |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= November 8, 2020 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/ultimate-collection-mw0000217991}} Larry Flick from Billboard 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."{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Flick |title= Single Reviews |magazine= Billboard |date= May 14, 1994 |page= 71 |access-date= March 18, 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1994/BB-1994-05-14.pdf |author-link= Larry Flick}} 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."{{cite magazine|first=Troy J.|last=Augusto|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/90s/1994/CB-1994-05-21.pdf|title=Pop Singles — Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|date=May 21, 1994|page=|access-date=February 28, 2022}}

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?"{{cite magazine|first= Dave |last= Sholin |title= Gavin Picks: Singles |magazine= Gavin Report |date= June 10, 1994 |page= 50 |access-date= October 18, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/94/Gavin-1994-06-10.pdf}} Alan Jones from Music Week deemed 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."{{cite magazine|first= Alan |last= Jones |title= Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= December 11, 1993 |page= 12 |access-date= April 5, 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-12-11.pdf}} James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update described it as a {{"'}}La Bamba' based raver's reggae inflected but surprisingly conventional Sly & Robbie revival, a party season smash".{{cite magazine|first= James |last= Hamilton |title= Dj directory |magazine= Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert) |date= December 11, 1993 |page= 7 |access-date= April 5, 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-12-11.pdf |author-link= James Hamilton (DJ and journalist)}} 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."{{cite magazine|first= Leesa |last= Daniels |url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/smashhits90s/33031278854/in/album-72157680520738360/ |title= New Singles |magazine= Smash Hits |date= December 4, 1993 |page= 57 |accessdate= December 16, 2022}}

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1993|certyear=1994|certref=|access-date=November 17, 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|title=Twist and Shout|artist=Chaka Demus & Pliers|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1993|id=1994-06-17|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|certyear=1994}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Twist and Shout|artist=Chaka Demus & Pliers|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1993|certyear=1994|id=7828-907-1|access-date=March 18, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Twiste et chante

| cover =

| alt =

| language = French

| English_title = Twist and sing

| type = single

| B-side = Il faut choisir

| artist = Sylvie Vartan

| album = Twiste et Chante

| released = {{start date|1963|10}}

| recorded = 1963

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Pop

| length = 2:00

| label = RCA Victor

| composer =

| lyricist =

| writer = Phil Medley, Bert Russell, Georges Aber

| producer =

| prev_title = I'm watching

| prev_year = 1963

| next_title = Si je chante

| next_year = 1963

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|wtfCaL8rcoE|"Twiste et chante"}}}}

}}

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 and was released as the third and final single off of her sophomore album of the same name that October.{{Cite web |title=EP 60 – Site officiel de Sylvie Vartan |url=https://www.sylvie-vartan.com/singles/ |access-date=2024-06-17 |language=fr-FR}} The song peaked at Number 8 in the French Belgian charts in February 1964.{{Cite web |title=Sylvie Vartan - Twiste et chante - ultratop.be |url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/65afc/Sylvie-Vartan-Twiste-et-chante |access-date=2024-06-17 |website=www.ultratop.be}} A promotional video was also filmed for the song.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtfCaL8rcoE |title=Sylvie Vartan - Twiste et chante |date=2019-06-27 |last=Oceane Rose |access-date=2024-06-17 |via=YouTube}} Vartan also performed the song on the American variety music program Shindig! on March 24, 1965 along with a cover of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" (in English).{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLif4PWswE |title=Sylvie Vartan : Money, Twiste et chante TV USA 1965 |date=2021-04-15 |last=Sylvie Le club |access-date=2024-06-17 |via=YouTube}}

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 - [https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1964/Billboard%201964-08-01.pdf Page 40 Billboard HITS OF THE WORLD, MEXICO, THIS WEEK 4, LAST WEEK 5, MUEVANSE TODOS]

• List of twist songs

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Guesdon |first1=Jean-Michel |last2=Margotin |first2=Philippe |title=All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release |date=2013 |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57912-952-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXKnAgAAQBAJ}}

{{Isley Brothers}}

{{The Beatles singles}}

{{Please Please Me}}

{{2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1961 songs

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