The Underrated Music Man Who Helped Write One of The Beatles' Biggest Hits and ...

People likely assume that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote The Beatles’ hit “Twist And Shout”. They wrote nearly all of their music, so why wouldn’t they write this one? We can’t answer that question for you, but what we can say is that Phil Medley and Bert Berns wrote this iconic single.(The Top Notes intitially performed “Twist And Shout” in 1961, two years before The Beatles go a hold of it.)

Back to the story, both writers were incredibly influential in the development of modern popular music, yet their names are known merely by those who fancy themselves as music historians and super fans. Medley and Berns wrote “If I Didn’t Have a Dime (To Play the Jukebox)”, “Killer Joe”, “These Worldly Wonders”, and “Anything You Wanna Do”.

Aside from his collaborations with Medley, Berns was a producer, writer, and record label executive; he co-founded Bang Records with a few other colleagues in 1965. Some of the artists signed to that label include The McCoys, The Strangeloves, Paul Davis, Neil Diamond, and Van Morrison. Berns is often credited with starting the careers of both Morrison and Diamond. Additionally, some of Berns’ other credits include “Piece of My Heart”, “Cry Baby”, and “Heart Be Still”. Bert Berns Accomplished All of This in Seven Short Years

Years after the writing of “Twist And Shout”, Bert Berns co-founded Bang Records in 1965. Tragically, just two years later, Berns passed away at 38 years old from cardiovascular disease. There are artists who unfortunately come and go like the wind, but Berns’ has posthumously stuck around.

“Bert Berns should be recognized as one of the most important record men of the 20th century. He was responsible for bringing Latin music into rock and roll. He was a founding father of New York uptown soul. Unlike most of his peers, he would often write and produce his songs alone,” said his son, Brett Berns.

Source: Peter Burditt/americansongwriter.com

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