The importance of the Beatles and cover songs is often neglected in terms of research. However, it is through these cover songs that allow the group to be located in a historical context (Brocken 6). Perhaps it is the fact that the majority of their cover songs were American that suggests a cultural fit is in existence behind the sounds accompanying the songs, prompting the need for more research to be conducted on their covers that ultimately evolved the group into the beloved Beatles remembered in today’s world (Brocken 6).

“Twist and Shout” has been “covered by many recording acts and bar bands that had never made a record, though only two artists made it into a hit”: the Isley Brothers and the Beatles (Unterberger). As originally released by the Top Notes, the song had minimal success until the Isley Brothers covered it in 1962 and transformed it into a Top Twenty single. In 1963, the Beatles covered the song again and achieved even more success with it. The Beatles altered it to more of a rock style than that of the soul style of the Isley Brothers by incorporating guitars and the skipping drumbeats of Ringo Starr, all of which were accompanied by John Lennon’s raunchy vocals and drew screams from their female crowds when they would shake their heads as they sang the “ooohs” at the end of verses (Unterberger). Perhaps the most notable difference between the two versions is that the bridge served as the “song’s conclusion, after which six stuttering ascending guitar chords were heard, and then a final declamatory guitar chord, as if the effort had exhausted the whole group” (Unterberger).

 

The Beatles recorded their cover of “Twist and Shout” on February 11, 1963– after 10pm and after recording ten of the fourteen songs on the album (Unterberger). George Martin held off recording this cover for the last in the recording session, and he is quoted as saying “I knew that Twist And Shout was a real larynx-tearer and I said, ‘We’re not going to record that until the very end of the day, because if we record it early on, you’re not going to have any voice left.’ So that was the last thing we did that night. We did two takes, and after that John didn’t have any voice left at all. It was good enough for the record, and it needed that linen-ripping sound.” (“Twist and Shout”). Because of the difficulty in recording the song and the increasing vocal exhaustion of Lennon, the group knew they it had to be done right the first time… and it was (“Twist and Shout”). Although the song was not released as a single in England, it was incredibly popular and reached #2 on the singles chart when it was issued as a featured track of a UK 1963 EP (Unterberger). Similarly, it reached #2 on the United States charts when it was issued as a single in 1964.

As previously mentioned, the day “Twist and Shout” was recorded was an incredibly long one, but the strained voice of John Lennon works incredibly well for the aesthetics of the song overall. His strained voice indicates that he was really into the song and its performance quality when he was recording it, which stems directly into how it is heard live. As an audience member, just as a band member, it would be likely that you had been singing and dancing the entirety of the performance, rendering you exhausted, thus having a profound impact on how you sound. It is likely that you are working harder and that you will not sound perfect, but rather you would sound strained—just as Lennon did in the initial recording of the song. However, as mentioned earlier, this strained voice would display how into the song you are.

More often than not, there is a clear difference in the way live and recorded versions of songs hear. However, the strain in Lennon’s voice while recording the song allows the live version to sound very similar to the recorded version in that when performing live, it may have been the case that the band was nearing the end of their set when performing “Twist and Shout,” and their voices may have been exhausted—just as they were when recording the original track. Furthermore, mono is the way in which live music is heard—the sound is coming at listeners from the front and the same sounds are being pumped through all of the speakers. By recording the song in mono, it allows listeners to feel as though they are listening to the song live.