List of twist songs

The following songs, in alphabetical order by year, are associated with the dance "The Twist" and the associated cultural craze:

Dancing Twist, Berlin, 17 May 1964

1959

• "The Twist" (Hank Ballard) — originally released by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side, but going to No. 1 in the US upon being covered by Chubby Checker (released 1959, charted in 1960 and 1962),[1] who would become the artist most associated with the Twist phenomenon. The song was subsequently covered numerous times, often by Checker himself, including a duet with the Fat Boys in 1988.

1960

• "Kissin' and Twistin'" (Don Kirshner-Al Nevins) — Fabian
• "Twistin' USA" (Kal Mann) — Danny and the Juniors, released as a b-side by Chubby Checker in 1961.[2]

1961

• "Dear Lady Twist" (Frank Guida) — Gary "U.S." Bonds[3]
• "Mama Don't Want No Twistin'" (H. Glover-C. Vaccaro) — Jo Ann Campbell
• "Let's Twist Again" (Kal Mann and Dave Appell) — Chubby Checker[2]
• "Oliver Twist"/"Celebrity Twist" (Gladys Shelley-Rod McKuen) — Rod McKuen
• "The Peppermint Twist" (Joey Dee-Henry Glover) — Joey Dee and the Starliters, reached No. 1 in the US (displacing Chubby Checker's "The Twist"),[4] subsequently covered by Sweet in 1974.
• "Rock-A-Hula Baby ("Twist" Special")" (Wise, Weisman, Fuller) — Elvis Presley
• "Spanish Twist" (Bradford) — Bill Haley & His Comets; released as a B-side by the Isley Brothers in 1962; also known as "Twist Español" on some international releases.
• "Florida Twist" (Caruso-Pomilli) — Bill Haley & His Comets
• "Tequila Twist" (Chuck Rio) — The Champs
• "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley-Bert Russell) — originally recorded by the Top Notes, then covered by the Isley Brothers in 1962 and the Beatles in 1963 (with John Lennon on the lead vocals); followed by numerous subsequent cover versions.

Note: These last two are compound sequel songs, with "Tequila Twist" serving not only as a sequel to "The Twist", but also as a sequel to the Champs' 1958 hit "Tequila", and "Twist and Shout" serving as a sequel to both "The Twist" and the Isley Brothers' 1959 hit "Shout".

1962

• "Let Me Do My Twist" (Henry Glover-Joey Dee-Morris Levy) — Jo Ann Campbell with Joey Dee & The Starliters
• "The Alvin Twist" (Ross Bagdasarian, Sr.) — The Chipmunks[5]
• "Arkansas Twist" (B.L. Trammell) — Bobby Lee Trammell
• "The Basie Twist" (Benny Carter) — Count Basie
• "Big Bo's - Twist" (W. Thomas) — Big Bo and the Arrows[6]
• "Mama Don't Allow No Twistin' Here" (Connie St. John)/"Twistin' At The Waldorf" (D. Meehan) — Don Meehan
• "Mama Don't Allow No Twistin'" — Barbara Dane (no songwriter credit; "Arranged and Adapted by Barbara Dane" on label)[6]
• "Bristol Twistin' Annie" (Lewis-Styles) — The Dovells (No. 27)
• "Do You Know How To Twist?" (Ballard-Redd-Nath) — Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (No. 87)
• "Everybody's Twistin'" (Koehler-Bloom) — Frank Sinatra (originally released as "Ev'rybody's Twistin'")
• "Hey, Let's Twist" (Glover-Dee-Levy) — Joey Dee & the Starliters (No. 20)
• "Jungle Twist" (Miller-Jackson) — Camil & Sylvia
• "La Leçon De Twist" (Danyel Gérard, Lucien Morisse, Giuseppe Mengozzi) — Dalida (France release)
• "Mister Twister" (C. Mapel), "Teach Me How to Twist" (E. Curtis), and "Kissin' Twist (Kiss 'n' Twist)" (Michael Canosa) — Connie Francis (multiple international releases)
• "Percolator (Twist)" (Bideau-Freeman) — Billy Joe & the Checkmates (No. 10)
• "Sister Twister" (Otis Blackwell) — Carl Perkins
• "Slow Twistin'" (Jon Sheldon)/"La Paloma Twist" (Kal Mann) — Chubby Checker (Dee Dee Sharp credited on "Slow Twistin'" on album version only)[2]
• "Soul Twist", "Twisting Time", and "Twisting with the King" — King Curtis
• "Transylvania Twist" (B. Pickett, G. Paxton & J. MacRae) — Bobby (Boris) Pickett and The Crypt-Kickers
• "Twist Fever" (Alan O'Day) — Arch Hall, Jr. & the Archers (appeared in the 1962 film Wild Guitar, but remained unreleased as a recording until appearing on the 2005 album of the same name; also on the album was "Guitar Twist" (also written by O'Day).)
• "Twist-Her" (B. Black) — Bill Black's Combo (No. 26)
• "Twistin' All Night Long" (Slay-Crewe) — Danny and the Juniors with Freddy Cannon
• "Twistin' and Kissin'" (M. Weiss-E. Lewis) — Ronnie & the Hi-Lites
• "Twisting in the Jungle" (Earl Gary-Van Aloda)/"Twistology" — Buddy Bow (Belgium release)
• "Twistin' Matilda (and the Channel)" (Norman Span) — Jimmy Soul (No. 22)
• "Twistin' Postman" (Bateman-Holland-Stevens) — The Marvelettes

  Note: This record also served as a compound sequel, referencing not only "The Twist", but also the Marvellettes' 1961 number-one hit "Please, Mr. Postman"

• "Twisting Bells" (Farina-Farina-Farina) — Santo and Johnny
• "Twistin' the Night Away" — written and originally released by Sam Cooke (No. 9), with a charting cover by Rod Stewart (No. 59, 1973 and 1987) and additional covers by the Marvelettes (1962) and Divine (1985)
• "Twistin' with Linda" (R. Isley-R. Isley-O. Isley) — The Isley Brothers
• "Twist, Twist Senora" (Anderson-Barge-Guida) — Gary U.S. Bonds[3]

1963

• "The Twister" (E. McDaniel) — Bo Diddley (UK release)
• "Twist It Up" (K. Mann-D. Appell) — Chubby Checker[2]
• "Do the Twist" (Dale Hawkins} — The Isley Brothers (from the album Twisting and Shouting)
• "Home on the Range Twist"/"Spaghetti Twist" — The Fortune Tellers (Japan release)[6]
• "Wesoły Twist (The Gay Twist)" (F. Leszczyńska, H. Rostworowski) — Helena Majdaniec (Poland release)

1964–present

• "Whole Lotta Twistin'" — Professor Longhair 1959-62 (date range of reissues on 1995's New Orleans Twist Party)
• "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n Roll)" — Elton John (1973)
• "Twist & Crawl" — The Beat (1980)
• "Twisting by the Pool" — Dire Straits (1983)
• "Twisting" — They Might Be Giants (1990)
• "The Wilbury Twist" — The Traveling Wilburys (1991)
• "Can You (Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?)" — The Wiggles (1995)
• "Bomb the Twist" — The 5.6.7.8's (1996)
• "Twist" — Phish (2000)
• "The Denial Twist" — The White Stripes (2005)
• "Then I Go Twisting" — Erasure (2011)

References in other songs

The following songs, while not songs specifically about the Twist or twisting, reference the dance/phenomenon in their lyrics.

• "Do You Love Me" — The Contours (1962)
• "Shake a Tail Feather" — Originally recorded in 1963 by the Five Du-Tones. Notable covers have been done by Mitch Ryder, the Monkees, the Kingsmen and Ray Charles.
• "My Kingdom" — Echo & the Bunnymen (1984)
• "Aneuryism" — Nirvana (1996)

Dance litany songs

Several pop songs have referenced the Twist among several other songs, sometimes calling on listeners/dancers to change their dance step when the singer calls out the name of a different dance.

• "Land of a Thousand Dances" — Chris Kenner (1963). Covered by many acts, including most notably by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Picket.
• "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" — James Brown (1965)
• "Do the Strand" — Roxy Music (1973)
• "Shake a Tail Feather" — Ray Charles (1980). While listed above as a song that merely references "The Twist", the Charles version that he performed in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers added additional lyrics in which Charles additionally calls for the Twist, the Monkey, the Frug and the Mashed Potato, to be performed by a crowd gathered outside Ray's Music Exchange.

See also

• Twist (dance)#Twist hits on Billboard
• The Continental Twist (1961)
• Twist Around the Clock (1961)
• Hey, Let's Twist! (1961)
• Don't Knock the Twist (1962)

References

1. Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, p.74. Billboard. ISBN 9780823076772.
2. Bronson (2003), p.85.
3. Bronson (2003), p.93.
4. Bronson (2003), p.107.
5. "The Chipmunk Songbook" at AllMusic
6. 45Cat.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.