Chart success

‘Twist And Shout’ was released as a single in the US on 2 March 1964 by the Tollie label. It reached number two on the Billboard chart.

In the UK the song was the title track of The Beatles’ first EP, which topped the charts following its release on 12 July 1963. The other songs on the EP were ‘A Taste Of Honey’, ‘Do You Want To Know A Secret’, and ‘There’s A Place’.

In Canada ‘Twist And Shout’ was the title track of the second Beatles album released by Capitol. It was issued on 3 February 1964.

BBC recordings

The Beatles recorded ‘Twist And Shout’ a total of ten times for BBC radio.

The earliest was for the BBC’s Talent Spot radio show on 27 November 1962 at the corporation’s Paris Studio, London. It was broadcast on 4 December 1962, but the recording is now lost. The Beatles also recorded ‘Love Me Do’ and ‘PS I Love You’ for the show.

The second recording was for Swinging Sound 63 on 18 April 1963, the day Paul McCartney met Jane Asher. The Beatles taped just two songs for the show, which was broadcast live – the other was ‘From Me To You’.

On 21 May 1963 they made an appearance on Steppin’ Out, which was broadcast on 3 June. The other songs recorded that day were ‘Please Please Me’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Thank You Girl’, and ‘From Me To You’.

The Beatles’ fourth BBC recording of ‘Twist And Shout’ was made on 17 June 1963, for an edition of Pop Go The Beatles broadcast on 25 June. They also taped versions of ‘Anna (Go To Him)’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘Boys’, ‘Chains’, ‘PS I Love You’, and ‘A Taste Of Honey’.

On 3 July 1963 they recorded an appearance on The Beat Show, which was broadcast the following day. The Beatles taped just three songs: ‘From Me To You’, ‘A Taste Of Honey’, and ‘Twist And Shout’.

The sixth BBC recording was made on 16 July 1963 for Pop Go The Beatles, and was broadcast on 6 August. The Beatles also recorded versions of ‘I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)’, ‘Crying, Waiting, Hoping’, ‘Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’, ‘To Know Her Is To Love Her’, ‘The Honeymoon Song’. This day’s version of ‘Twist And Shout’ was included on 2013’s On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2.

On 17 July 1963 The Beatles appeared on Easy Beat; the edition was broadcast four days later. They also recorded ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, ‘A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues’, and ‘There’s A Place’.

The eighth BBC recording of ‘Twist And Shout’ was for Saturday Club. It was recorded on 30 July 1963 and broadcast on 24 August. The Beatles also taped versions of ‘Long Tall Sally’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Glad All Over’, ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, and ‘I’ll Get You’.

On 1 August 1963 they made another appearance on Pop Go The Beatles, which was broadcast on 27 August. The other songs recorded that day were ‘Ooh! My Soul’, ‘Don’t Ever Change’, ‘She Loves You’, ‘Anna (Go To Him)’, and ‘A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues’.

The tenth and final BBC recording of ‘Twist And Shout’ was again for Pop Go The Beatles. It was recorded on 3 September 1963 and broadcast on 24 September. The Beatles also taped versions of ‘Ask Me Why’, ‘Devil In Her Heart’, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, and ‘Sure To Fall (In Love With You)’.

This final version of ‘Twist And Shout’ was released in 2013 on the digital download album Bootleg Recordings 1963.

Lyrics

Well, shake it up, baby now (shake it up baby)
Twist and shout (twist and shout)
C’mon c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby now (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out (work it on out, whoo)

Well, work it on out honey (work it on out)
You know you look so good (look so good)
You know you got me going now (got me going)
Just like I knew you would (like I knew you would)

Well, shake it up, baby now (shake it up baby)
Twist and shout (twist and shout)
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby now (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out (work it on out, whoo)

You know you twist it little girl (twist little girl)
You know you twist so fine (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer now (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you’re mine (let me know you’re mine, whoo)

Well, shake it up, baby now (shake it up baby)
Twist and shout (twist and shout)
C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, baby now (come on baby)
Come on and work it on out (work it on out)

You know you twist it little girl (twist little girl)
You know you twist so fine (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer now (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you’re mine (let me know you’re mine)

Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now (shake it up baby)
Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now (shake it up baby)
Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now (shake it up baby)

Previous song: ‘There’s A Place’
Next album: With The Beatles
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