music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Peppermint Twist" is a song written by Joey Dee and Henry Glover, recorded and released by Joey Dee and the Starliters in 1961.[1] 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"
Single by Joey Dee and the Starliters
from the album Doin' the Twist at the Peppermint Lounge
B-side	"Peppermint Twist (Part 2)"
Released	1961
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	4:05 (Parts 1 and 2 combined)
Label	Roulette
Songwriter(s)	Joey Dee, Henry Glover
Joey Dee and the Starliters singles chronology
"Face of an Angel" (1960) "Peppermint Twist" (1961) "Shout" (1962)

"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.[2] 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

"Peppermint Twist"
Single by Sweet
from the album Sweet Fanny Adams
B-side	"Rebel Rouser"
Released	1974
Recorded	1974
Genre	Glam rock
Length	3:29
Label	RCA (Europe)
Songwriter(s)	Joey Dee, Henry Glover
Producer(s)	Phil Wainman
Sweet singles chronology
"Turn It Down" (1974) "Peppermint Twist" (1974) "Fox on the Run" (1975)

The song was covered by English glam rock band Sweet, whose version topped the Australian singles chart in 1974,[3] 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.[4]
• 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

Chart (1958–2018)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100[5]	244

See also

• Twist songs

References

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