The first Beatles 7" I bought was the 'Twist and Shout' EP and prior to that I had been content with my American explorations of The Lovin' Spoonful and such and relied on my brother to buy the Beatles stuff as he had bought the early first albums. Something about the rawness of John's blues shout made me sit up and take such note I had to go buy it!

On this day in music history: March 2, 1964 - “Twist And Shout” by The Beatles is released. Written by Phil Medley & Bert Russell (aka Bert Berns), the song is recorded on February 11, 1963 during the sessions for the band’s first album “Please Please Me”. The last song of a marathon twelve hour recording session, the band record the song completely live in one take. A second take is attempted, but John Lennon (suffering from a cold at the time), is too hoarse to complete the second go around. Following its release on their first UK album, the song is also issued as the title track of a four song EP that also quickly becomes a best seller. The single is released in the US on Vee Jay Records subsidiary Tollie Records and quickly races up the charts. “Twist And Shout” peaks at #2 for 4 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (beginning on April 4, 1964) behind their own “Can’t Buy Me Love” which is released two weeks later. “Twist And Shout” experiences a major resurgence in popularity in 1986, when the song is featured in the John Hughes directed comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. The exposure the song receives from the film results in the single being re-released and re-entering the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #23 on September 27, 1986.

thanks as always to Jeff Harris - blog Behind the Grooves