1961 single by Joey Dee and the Starliters
"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 No.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 No.1 hit; the mostly instrumental second half of the recording is rarely heard today.
"Peppermint Twist" replaced Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the song that sparked the Twist fad, at the No. 1 position.
This song: "Peppermint Twist" should not be confused with The Peppermint Twist which is an entirely different song, written by Danny Lamego whose group Danny Peppermint And The Jumping Jacks had a #54 Billboard hit with it in December 1961. Danny Peppermint performed at that time at The Peppermint Lounge in Manhattan, after which both songs are named, as did Joey Dee And The Starliters who went on to have the bigger hit.
Background
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
The song was covered by English glam rock band Sweet and was included on their album Sweet Fanny Adams.[6] In Australia, the single reached No. 4 on the weekly chart and No. 26 on the 1975 year end chart.[7]
