Twist and Shout

"Twist and Shout" is a song sung by The Beatles, originally written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell. It was released on the album Please Please Me.

About
"Twist and Shout" was the first of a long line of hits for songwriter Bert Berns (aka Bert Russell) who wrote "Twist and Shout" with partner Phil Medley. It was first recoded by the Top Notes but achieved fame the following year when it was recorded by the Isley Brothers in 1962. This was the version that John Lennon was familiar with and the Beatles learned it almost immediately. It was a crowd pleaser, and also closed two of the most important performances of the early Beatles' career when they played at the London Palladium and a month later for the Royal Variety Show.

The recording of "Twist and Shout" is well known. It was the evening of February 11, 1963 and the Beatles had spent all day recording their first album Please Please Me. John and George were suffering from a bad cold, having playing all around England in one of the coldest winters on record. Sucking on Zubes throat lozenges all day, John's voice had nearly reached its limit. EMI was preparing to pack up for the night, and the Beatles still had to record the closer for their debut record. Somebody suggested "Twist and Shout", a staple in their live performances since Hamburg. So in one famous go-for-broke take, Lennon gave a throat-tearing performance and the song was captured perfectly; George and Paul sang backing vocals on one microphone. George Martin tried a take two but John's vocal cords were shredded. Even weeks afterwards, John said his throat still felt like sandpaper after the session.

Tollie Records released "Twist and Shout" as a single in America where it reached #2 on April 4, 1964. In the United Kingdom, it was part of one of the four tracks on an EP promoting "Please Please Me", the others being There's A Place, A Taste of Honey, and Do You Want to Know a Secret.

This was actually the first song the Beatles performed in America. CBS taped a group of songs by the Beatles for the Ed Sullivan Show to be broadcast on February 23, 1964, several days after their return to the UK. Although "All My Loving" would be the first song most Americans would see, "Twist and Shout" was the first song the Beatles sang in the USA.

"Twist and Shout" was re-released in 1986 by public demand, when it was featured in the popular film "Ferris Beuhler's Day Off." It peaked at #23. The Beatles' arrangement of the song was also in the film "Back to School," the same year where it was sung by Rodney Dangerfield.

Credits
John Lennon – rhythm guitar, lead vocal

Paul McCartney – bass guitar, backing vocals

George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals

Ringo Starr – drums

George Martin - producer