Twistin' The Night Away

Album: Never a Dull Moment (1972)
Charted: 59
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rod Stewart revived this Sam Cooke Classic in 1972 for his album Never A Dull Moment. The twist craze had long passed (Cooke's original is from 1962), but by this time it had some retro appeal, as all those teenagers who grew up doing the dance were entering adulthood.
  • Stewart is a big fan of Sam Cooke and soul music in general. In 1966 he covered Cooke's "Shake," and in 1975 he had a hit with The Isley Brothers' "This Old Heart Of Mine."
  • It's not often you see a cover song chart twice, but Stewart's "Twistin' The Night Away," which went to #59 in the US when it was released in 1972, returned to #80 in 1987 after it was used in the Martin Short movie Innerspace.
  • Stewart has this to say in his Storyteller anthology: "A Sam Cooke song. I could never sing it better, so we just took it in a different direction. The last track recorded for Never A Dull Moment, it speeds up and down, but the feel is right and that's all that counts."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?