Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1961
Peppermint Twist
Buy Peppermint Twist now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'Peppermint Twist'" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961. Capitalizing on the Twist dance craze and the nightclub in which Dee performed ("The Peppermint Lounge"), the song hit #1 on the U.S. 'Billboard' Hot 100 in early 1962. The original recording of the song was considered too long for release on a 45 rpm single, so it was split into two parts. It was this first part, "Peppermint Twist (Part 1)", with a length of 2:03, which became the #1 hit; the mostly instrumental second half of the recording is rarely heard today.
"Peppermint Twist" replaced Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the song that sparked the Twist fad, at the No. 1 position.
The lead singer in the Starliters' version is David Brigati, whose brother, Eddie Brigati, was a singer for the 1960s pop group the (Young) Rascals. The other personnel on the record included Carlton Lattimore on organ, Billy Butler on guitar, Jerome Richardson on sax, and Don Martin on drums.
The Sweet version
The song was covered by English glam rock band Sweet, whose version topped the Australian singles chart in 1974, and was included on their successful album 'Sweet Fanny Adams'.
Other versions
* A version by Bill Haley & His Comets was recorded for Armed Forces Radio in 1962, but was not released until 2000.
* Catarina Valente reached No. 8 in Germany with her version in 1962.
* Kidsongs added their take on the 1994 release, 'I Can Bop with the Biggles'.
In popular culture
* The Joey Dee and the Starliters recording features in the film 'American Graffiti' (1973).
* Chubby Checker performed a variation, "The Super Bowl Twist", in medley with his hit "Let's Twist Again" during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXII on January 31, 1988.youtube.com/watch?v=HoGAshRemXM
* The song also inspired a New Zealand TV show of the same name set in the 1960s, which aired on TVNZ from 1987-88.
* D-TV set the song to the 'Silly Symphony', 'The Cookie Carnival' (1935).
Chart performance
All-time charts
See also
*Twist songs
References
Category:1961 songs
Category:1961 singles
Category:1962 singles
Category:1974 singles
Category:Bill Haley songs
Category:Caterina Valente songs
Category:The Sweet songs
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Songs written by Henry Glover
Category:Roulette Records singles
Category:RCA Records singles
Category:Twist (dance)
Category:Songs about dancing
Buy Peppermint Twist now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1961