''Twistin' the Night Away'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

. Produced by

Hugo & Luigi Hugo & Luigi were an American record producing team, made up of songwriters and producers Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, who shared an office in New York's Brill Building. Besides their working relationship, they were cousins. Background First ...

, the album was released in April 1962 in the United States by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. ''Twistin' the Night Away'' primarily capitalizes on the

twist Twist may refer to: In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage * ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist'' * ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...

phenomenon and as a result became one of Cooke's most successful LPs, becoming his second to chart and creating a string of chart successes. ''Twistin' the Night Away'' peaked at number 74 on ''Billboard'' ''Top LPs'' chart, while the single of the same name charted higher at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

''Twistin' the Night Away'' originated during the recording team's move to RCA Victor's Hollywood studios.

Sammy Lowe Sammy Lowe (May 14, 1918, Birmingham, Alabama – February 17, 1993, Birmingham) was an American trumpeter, arranger, and conductor. Career Lowe was active both in jazz and in R&B music, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s. From the 1930s to ...

, conductor of Cooke's past two albums, brought aboard

René Hall René Joseph Hall (September 26, 1912 ‒ February 11, 1988) was an American guitarist and arranger. He was among the most important behind the scenes figures in early rock and roll, but his career spanned the period from the late 1920s to the ...

, an arranger he had worked with in their days at

Keen Records Keen Records was an American independent record label, founded by John and Alex Siamas in 1957 in Los Angeles. John Siamas was a successful businessman in the aerospace industry, and, as a music aficionado, started Keen as a side business. They ...

. Hall in turn booked horn players Plas Johnson, Jackie Kelso and Jewell Grant "to spike up what was effectively a return to former glories."

Reception

Bruce Eder of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that while Cooke was "shoehorned" into doing twist numbers, it remains nevertheless "one of the great dance albums of its period," and "a brilliant soul album as well, which is why it holds up 40 years later." ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' wrote that "Cooke was unique because he was one of the first black artists to keep a tight hand on the direction of his career and the profits thereof," calling the album's hit single a "dance-craze classic."''

'', July 31, 1976

Track listing

All songs written by Sam Cooke, except where noted. All songs arranged and conducted by

, except "That's It—I Quit—I'm Movin' On", conducted by

Side one

# "

Twistin' the Night Away "Twistin' the Night Away" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke. It was recorded on 18 December 1961 and released as a single in 1962. It became very popular, charting in the top ten of both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#9) and Billboard's ...

" – 2:39 # "Sugar Dumpling" – 2:16 # "Twistin' in the Kitchen with Dinah" – 2:08 # "Somebody's Gonna Miss Me" (Lattimore Brown, Arthur Lee Reeves) – 2:32 # "A Whole Lotta Woman" (James W. Alexander, Lowell Jordan) – 2:20 # " The Twist" (

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of The Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

) – 2:27

Side two

# "Twistin' in the Old Town Tonight" (

Mack David Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...

) – 2:08 # "Movin' And A'Groovin'" (Cooke,

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

) – 2:34 # "Camptown Twist" – 2:13 # "

Somebody Have Mercy "Somebody Have Mercy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, originally released in April 1962 on the album ''Twistin' the Night Away''. Background One line in the song ("Tell me what is wrong with me") created speculation and rampan ...

" – 2:56 # "Soothe Me" – 2:07 # "That's It—I Quit—I'm Movin' On" (Roy Alfred, Del Sorino) – 2:31

Personnel

All credits adapted from ''The RCA Albums Collection'' (2011) liner notes. *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

– guitar, arrangement, conducting *

– conductor on "That's It—I Quit—I'm Movin' On" *Clifton White, Al Chernet, Charles Macey,

Tommy Tedesco Thomas Joseph Tedesco (July 3, 1930 – November 10, 1997) was an American guitarist and studio musician in Los Angeles and Hollywood. He was part of the loose collective of the area's leading session musicians later popularly known as The Wrec ...

, Bobby Gibbons – guitar *

Lloyd Trotman Lloyd Nelson Trotman (May 25, 1923 – October 3, 2007), born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, was an American jazz bassist, who backed numerous jazz, dixieland, R&B, and rock and roll artists in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He resided ...

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

Jimmy Bond Jimmy Bond is a fictional character in the American Fox television shows ''The Lone Gunmen'' and ''The X-Files'', two science fiction shows about government conspiracies to hide or deny the truth from the people. Portrayed by American actor ...

Ray Pohlman Merlyn Ray Pohlman (July 22, 1930 – November 1, 1990) was an American session musician and arranger who played both upright bass and bass guitar, and also did sessions as a guitarist. He is credited with being the first electric bass player in ...

– bass guitar *

Panama Francis David Albert "Panama" Francis (December 21, 1918 – November 13, 2001) was an American swing jazz drummer who played on numerous hit recordings in the 1950s. Early life Francis was born in Miami, Florida, on December 21, 1918. His father was ...

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of al ...

, Sharky Hall – drums *Bobby Donaldson – percussion *Ernest Hayes, Eddie Beal, Marty Harris – piano *Stuart Williamson, John Anderson – trumpet *Larry Altpeter, Albert Godlis, Frank Saracco, John Ewing –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

Jackie Kelso John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Josep ...

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sax ...

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

*Jewell Grant –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

*Hinda Barnett, Frederick Buldrini, Morris Lefkowitz, Archie Levin, Ben Miller, George Ockner, Sylvan Ockner, Franklin Siegfried, Harry Urbont – violin *

Al Schmitt Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...

– recording engineer

Charts

Notes

External links

Songs of Sam Cooke: Main Page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twistin' the Night Away (Album) 1962 albums Sam Cooke albums RCA Victor albums Albums produced by Hugo & Luigi Albums arranged by René Hall Albums conducted by René Hall Albums conducted by Sammy Lowe