"Ya Ya" is a song by

Lee Dorsey Irving Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 1, 1986) was an American pop and R&B singer during the 1960s. His biggest hits were "Ya Ya" (1961) and " Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint, with ...

. The song was written by Dorsey,

C. L. Blast Clarence Junior Lewis (August 20, 1934 – February 26, 2016), better known by his stage name C.L. Blast, was an American Soul music, soul singer. Lewis was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1934. His first record was "Your Heart Must Be Made of Sto ...

, Bobby Robinson, and

Morris Levy Morris Levy (born Moishe Levy; August 27, 1927 – May 21, 1990) was an American entrepreneur in the fields of jazz clubs, music publishing, and the independent record industry. Levy was cofounder and owner of Roulette Records, founding partner ...

. Levy's participation in the writing has been called into question; the Flashback release of the single lists only Dorsey and Blast as writers, as do the liner notes to the ''American Graffiti'' soundtrack.

Background

The song was inspired by a children's

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

, and includes session guitar player Jimmy Spruill on it.

Chart performance

The song reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B singles chart in 1961.

Cover versions

Beatles connection

According to author

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

in ''The Complete Beatles Chronicles'' (p. 365),

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

regularly performed "Ya Ya", live from 1961 to 1962 in Hamburg, Liverpool and elsewhere.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

was always the lead vocalist on this number but no recorded version is known to exist. However,

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

, the Beatles' close associate, recorded a live version of the song for

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

which was released in October 1962 on the A-side of a German

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

. This 45RPM is credited to Tony Sheridan & "The Beat Brothers" who are often wrongly believed to be

. But the fledgling British group had no involvement in recording this track although "

Sweet Georgia Brown "Sweet Georgia Brown" is a jazz standard composed in 1925 by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard, with lyrics by Kenneth Casey. History Reportedly, Ben Bernie came up with the concept for the song's lyrics – although he is not the credited lyricis ...

", included on this disc, is indeed recorded by them.

Track listing for ''Ya Ya'' by Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers

7" EP Polydor – 21 485 (1962, Germany.) : A1. / A2. "Ya Ya Part 1 & 2" : B1. "

" : B2. " Skinny Minny" (

sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...

) In 1964, "Ya Ya" (Part 1) was included as filler on the German compilation album " The Beatles' First!" and the complete recording can be heard on ''

The Early Tapes of the Beatles ''The Early Tapes of The Beatles'' is the first digital repackaging of '' The Beatles' First !'', the 1964 German compilation album of Tony Sheridan and The Beatles recordings. The songs were recorded in Hamburg between 1961 and 1963. Most of t ...

'', the 1984 CD reissue of this album. In 1974,

included a snippet of the song on the album ''

Walls and Bridges ''Walls and Bridges'' is the fifth studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was issued by Apple Records on 26 September 1974 in the United States and on 4 October in the United Kingdom. Written, recorded and released during his 18-month ...

'' with himself on vocals and piano, credited as "Dad", and his 11 year old son Julian on the

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

. Lennon covered the song fully on his 1975 album ''

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

''.

Other covers

*In 1966,

Tommy James and the Shondells Tommy James and the Shondells are an American pop rock/psychedelic rock band, formed in Niles, Michigan, in 1964. They had two No. 1 singles in the U.S. – " Hanky Panky" (July 1966, their only RIAA Certified Gold record) and "Crimson and Clo ...

released a version as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to their song "

It's Only Love "It's Only Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written mostly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first released in 1965 on the ''Help!'' album in the United Kingdom and on the ''Rubber Soul'' album in the ...

" * Mouse and the Traps recorded "Ya Ya" as the B-side of their 1967 single "Cryin' Inside". *

The Hombres The Hombres were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee, known primarily for the 1967 single, "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)". Origins Formed in 1966, The Hombres comprised Jerry Lee Masters (leader and bass player); Gary Wayn ...

included a cover on their only album ''Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)'', in 1968. * Trio recorded and released it on their 1981 eponymous first album and their live album ''Live im Frühjahr 82''. *

Lee Michaels Lee Eugene Michaels (born Michael Olsen, November 24, 1945) is an American rock musician who sings and accompanies himself on organ, piano, or guitar. He is best known for his powerful soulful voice and his energetic virtuosity on the Hammo ...

covered the song on his 1971 album '' 5th''. *

Ike & Tina Turner Ike & Tina Turner were an American musical duo consisting of husband and wife Ike Turner and Tina Turner. From 1960 to 1976, they performed live as the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, supported by Ike Turner's band the Kings of Rhythm and backing voca ...

covered the song in the early 1970s but their version was not released until 2004 on the album '' His Woman, Her Man: The Ike Turner Diaries''. * Steve Miller covered the song on his 1988 album ''Born 2 B Blue''.

Johnny Hallyday (French version)

French singer

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

covered the song in French. His version, titled "Ya ya twist", reached No. 1 in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

(the French speaking part of Belgium) in 1962.

Track listing

7" EP Philips 432.739 BE (1962, France etc.) : A1. " Retiens la nuit" (2:54) : A2. "Sam'di soir" (3:00) : B1. "Ya ya twist" (2:27) : B2. "La faute au twist" (1:50)

Charts

Other French language covers

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

recorded the song (released in February 1962, #1) almost simultaneously to Hallyday's version. * Malika et les Golden Stars released it on a

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

record in January 1963. *

Sylvie Vartan Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; hy, Սիլվի Ժորժ Վարդանյան. on 15 August 1944) is an Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. ...

recorded a cover for her album ''Nouvelle Vague'' in 2007 * In 1964, Joel Denis covered the song in

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

as "Yaya", which was rerecorded in 1994 by

Mitsou Mitsou Annie Marie Gélinas (born September 1, 1970, in Loretteville, Quebec) is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress. She is credited as Mitsou Gélinas when acting, but records simply as Mitsou (the Fre ...

Covers in other languages

*In 1962,

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida, was an Italian-French singer and actress born in Egypt. She sang in eleven languages and sold millions of records internationally. Her best known son ...

covered the song in German under the title "Ya Ya Twist". *In 1980 a Norwegian retrorock band Vazelina Bilopphøggers released the song as "Gi meg fri i kveld". *

Toni Montano Toni Montano (Serbian Cyrillic: Тони Монтано), real name Velibor Miljković (Serbian Cyrillic: Велибор Миљковић) is a Serbian rock musician. Biography Radost Evrope Miljković started his career as a vocalist of the ban ...

covered it on his first album "Tonny Montano" as "Svi se sada njišu i ubrzano dišu" in 1985 *

Goran Bregović Goran Bregović (born 22 March 1950) is a recording artist from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Slavic-speaking countries in the Balkans, and is one of the few former Yug ...

covered the song as "Ringe ringe raja" in his

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the 1995 film ''

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

''.

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1961 songs 1961 singles 1962 singles Songs written by Morris Levy Johnny Hallyday songs Trini Lopez songs Petula Clark songs Tommy James and the Shondells songs Lee Michaels songs John Lennon songs Lee Dorsey songs Ike & Tina Turner songs American rhythm and blues songs Philips Records singles Fury Records singles Polydor Records EPs