Twist and Shout

Spotify's official recording from Please Please Me (Remastered). Sign-in Spotify users get full playback; everyone else gets a 30-second preview. Open in Spotify →

"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. 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, Salt-N-Pepa, and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions. [Wikipedia]

Twist and Shout is a song by The Beatles, written by Medley–Russell and led on vocal by John Lennon. Album closer; cut last in one take with John's voice shredded by a cold. Within the catalogue, its cover thread connects it to Anna (Go to Him), Chains, Boys; its one-take thread connects it to Rock and Roll Music, Long Tall Sally; its vocal-shred thread connects it to Oh! Darling. Originally recorded by The Top Notes and a hit for Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1962, 'Twist and Shout' was recorded 11 February 1963 with John Lennon providing a raw, high-energy vocal that captured the song's rhythm-and-blues origins. The track's immediacy and Lennon's shouted phrasing became one of the group's most recognizable concert performances, establishing the song as a centerpiece of early Beatlemania live shows (Lewisohn 1988, p.27).

The session work falls within the band's Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 11 Feb 1963 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.11 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). Take 1 was selected for the album, a rarity suggesting either a first-take performance of exceptional quality or the decision to preserve the energy of an unrehearsed, spontaneous studio approach. John Lennon's vocal, delivered at full volume in the studio, likely strained his voice for subsequent takes; the decision to use the first attempt may reflect pragmatic engineering rather than accidental excellence. George Martin's sparse arrangement kept focus on the vocal and tight four-piece backing (Lewisohn 1988, p.27).

In the canonical discography it appears on the LP Please Please Me; on the EP Twist and Shout. Documented alternate versions include Anthology 1 (1995). Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. John Lennon lead vocals appear in 73 canon songs (26 in Beatlemania), making this among his most vigorous vocal performances. As the Please Please Me album closer and a concert staple, Twist and Shout became synonymous with Beatles energy and Beatlemania excess, later covered by numerous artists seeking to capture the group's raw appeal (Lewisohn 1988, p.27).

• Grammy Hall of Fame: in 2010

Recognition mentions extracted from the Wikipedia article. Verify against the linked source before quoting.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• Anna (Go to Him) (score 10)
• Any Time at All (score 10)
• Tell Me Why (score 10)
• All I've Got to Do (score 8)
• Ask Me Why (score 8)
• Baby It's You (score 8)
• Every Little Thing (score 8)
• I Call Your Name (score 8)