The Long and Winding Road of 'Twist and Shout' by the Beatles
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- 5 days ago
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‘200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt
Frank Mastropolo
"Twist and Shout” became one of the Beatles’ big hits when it was released in March 1964 at the outset of Beatlemania. The song was a cover of the Top 20 hit two years earlier by the Isley Brothers.
Since then, musicians from the Mamas & the Papas and Booker T. & the M.G.’s to Celine Dion and Mae West have recorded “Twist and Shout.”
Though the Isleys were the first to find success with the song, it did not originate with them. The Top Notes, a little-known R&B group from Philadelphia, were the first to cut the song. Despite the guidance of a star producer, the effort was a flop.
The Top Notes, fronted by singers Derek Ray and Guy Howard, signed with Atlantic Records in 1960. The group cut a few songs— “A Wonderful Time,” followed by “Say Man”—but never had a breakout success. But 1961 brought an opportunity when Atlantic assigned a young producer to the group: Phil Spector.
Spector was working for producing legends Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and had racked up hits with Ray Peterson’s “Corrina, Corrina” and Curtis Lee’s “Pretty Little Angel Eyes.” Spector’s next assignment was to produce the Top Notes.
On February 23, 1961, Spector and the Top Notes recorded “Always Late (Why Lead Me On)” and its B-side was a song written by Bert Berns and Phil Medley. Berns would become one of the most prolific writers and producers in rock, responsible for “Under the Boardwalk,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Hang on Sloopy,” and “Piece of My Heart.”
But in 1961, Berns was a newcomer to the business who handed off “Twist and Shout” to Spector to produce for the Top Notes. Berns reportedly fumed during Spector’s production, believing it had the wrong tempo and feel.
Berns later brought the song to the Isley Brothers, hoping for the energy the Isleys delivered on their hit “Shout,” recorded two years earlier. The Isleys delivered and the song became a hit in 1962. The Isleys’ version was the one copied by the Beatles in 1964.
And the Top Notes? When their version of “Twist and Shout” failed to chart, Atlantic terminated their contract. The group only released two more singles, 1962’s “Wait for Me, Baby” on Festival Records and “I Love You So Much” for ABC-Paramount the following year.
Frank Mastropolo is the author of 200 Greatest 60s Rock Songs, part of the Greatest Performances series. For more on our latest projects, visit Edgar Street Books.
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