Find Out the Original Artist and Title of “Twist And Shout”

How many of you think the Beatles did the original?
For that matter, how many of you music fans know that the Isley Brothers did it before the Beatles?

BUT! Did you know someone else did it even BEFORE the Isleys? And it was originally titled differently?

Read the following question sent in and find out the answers!

Q: I believe that the Beatles' TWIST AND SHOUT is the perfect Rock 'n Roll song. What songs do you think are perfect? Second, can you give some details on TWIST AND SHOUT?

A: 1) In my own taste & opinion, some perfect Rock 'n Roll songs would include the Beatles version of TWIST AND SHOUT; also, the Rolling Stones' (I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION, The Kingsmen's LOUIE, LOUIE, Chuck Berry's JOHNNY B. GOODE and it's “remake,” the Beach Boys' FUN, FUN, FUN, Elvis Presley's JAILHOUSE ROCK, Bill Haley & His Comets' ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK and Little Richard's TUTTI FRUTTI. Those songs – released between 1955-1965 – epitomize what Rock 'n Roll is all about and have been used as blueprints for many Rock songs throughout the years. 2) As for your second question, TWIST AND SHOUT was originally written as "Shake It Up, Babe (or 'baby')", recorded by the Top Notes and produced in 1961 by Phil Spector; but before their single was issued, the title was changed to "Twist And Shout". However, Spector was still a fledgling producer and hadn't perfected his soon-to-be famous "Wall of Sound" recording style. Therefore, the song didn't sound as exciting as the songwriters had intended. One of the song's co-writers, Bert Russell, decided to go ahead and produce his own version to upstage Spector. He got together with the Isley Brothers, who hadn't had much success since their 1959 single SHOUT. Based on the Isley's SHOUT and the current “twist” dance craze, Russell re-named “Shake It Up, Babe” as TWIST AND SHOUT and recorded the song in 1962 with the Isleys as the b-side to the Burt Bacharach song “Make It Easy On Yourself.” However, deejays flipped the record over and chose to play TWIST AND SHOUT which eventually became the Isley's first Top 20 hit, reaching #17 that summer. Being R&B fans, the Beatles picked up on TWIST AND SHOUT and covered it in 1962 as filler for their first album. The Beatles allegedly recorded it in one take; John Lennon was singing with a sore throat due to a long day of recording which added to his vocal intensity. Here in America, Tollie Records - a subsidiary label of Veejay Records - released the Beatle version as a single in 1963 and again in 1964 where it reached #2 in April of that year. It has gone on to become one of the most recognizable and loved Rock 'n Roll songs of all time.

Hear the original Top Notes version by watching this video!