Coverocktober Song #4: "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles

Today would have been John Lennon's 85th birthday, so in honor of John, it only seems appropriate to do a Beatles cover for today's Coverocktober selection.  While The Beatles recorded many great covers, especially in their earlier days, none is more iconic than their version of "Twist and Shout," featuring John on lead vocals.

While The Isley Brothers were the first group to have a hit with "Twist and Shout" -- their version went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962 -- they were not the first to record the song.  The Top Notes took home that honor, recording and releasing the song in 1961. Their version is more uptempo than later versions and has a Latin garage rock feel to it.

Connections to The Beatles and the original version of "Twist and Shout" abound.  The original was produced by Phil Spector, who later produced The Beatles' Let It Be album and co-produced George Harrison's All Things Must Pass and several of Lennon's solo albums, including Plastic Ono Band and Imagine.  And the back-up singers on the Top Notes' original recording were The Cookies, who song "Chains" was covered by The Beatles on their debut album Please Please Me.

The Beatles' cover -- which was also included on Please Please Me and was released as a single in the U.S. -- more closely tracks The Isley Brothers' version, which added the bridge of ascending "ahhs" that we now know and love.  John's vocals on the track are the stuff of legend.  They saved the song until the end of the recording session, and John's voice is noticeably hoarse, which ended up being perfect for the song.  The band recorded the song in one take.  

The Beatles' version reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1964, kept out of the #1 spot by another Beatles song, "Can't Buy Me Love."  Oh, and the other three songs in the Top 5 that week were also Beatles songs.  "Twist and Shout" was the only Beatles cover song that sold a million copies in the U.S., and it was the only Beatles cover that charted in the Top 10 on any national pop chart.  It also charted in the Top 10 on the pop charts in ten other countries.  And then Ferris Bueller lip-synced to it on a float in the Von Steuben Day Parade in 1986 when he should have been in school.

Happy birthday John, wherever you may be.