15/10/2025
☺️☺️"Twist and Shout", un tema de 1961 grabado originalmente por The Top Notes y posteriormente versionado por los Isley Brothers. La icónica versión de los Beatles, con John Lennon como vocalista principal, se lanzó en su álbum debut Please Please Me en 1963. A pesar de que John Lennon sintió que su voz se tensaba durante la grabación debido a un resfriado, la versión se considera ahora un clásico y fue el único sencillo de la banda que vendió un millón de copias.😄
🎙️ Today’s “Songs the Beatles Covered”: Twist and Shout
When The Beatles recorded “Twist and Shout” on February 11, 1963, it wasn’t just another cover — it was an explosion.
Written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, the song was first recorded by The Top Notes in 1961, but it was The Isley Brothers’ 1962 version that gave it the fire Lennon wanted. “That’s the one we all loved,” he said. “We tried to do it justice.”
And they did — in just one take.
It was the final song of their Please Please Me album session, recorded at Abbey Road Studio Two after nearly ten hours of live takes. John’s voice was nearly gone by the end of the day, so George Martin saved “Twist and Shout” for last — fearing it would shred Lennon’s throat completely.
“It nearly killed me,” John recalled.
“My voice wasn’t the same for days, but I couldn’t sing it a second time if I tried.”
The result was one of the most electrifying single takes in rock history — raw, wild, and alive. Paul and George’s harmonies are ragged but thrilling; Ringo hammers the drums like he’s leading a riot. Martin later said it was “a triumph of spirit over technique.”
Released as the final track on Please Please Me, it became an anthem of the band’s live shows — the ultimate closer. When The Beatles performed it at the Royal Variety Performance, Lennon famously quipped, “Those in the cheaper seats clap your hands… and the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.”
When Ferris Bueller’s Day Off used the song in 1986, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 — giving The Beatles their second chart hit of the ’80s, 25 years after the original recording.
“You can hear that I’m just a frantic guy doing my best,” Lennon said later.
“It’s not perfect — but it’s real.”