The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)
"It's in His Kiss" | ||||
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Universal Recording, Chicago[2] | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:12 | |||
Label | Vee-Jay 585 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rudy Clark | |||
Producer(s) | Calvin Carter | |||
Betty Everett singles chronology | ||||
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"It's in His Kiss" is a song written and composed by Rudy Clark. It was first released as a single in 1963 by Merry Clayton that did not chart. The song was made a hit a year later when recorded by Betty Everett, who hit No. 1 on the Cashbox magazine R&B charts with it in 1964. Recorded by dozens of artists and groups around the world in the decades since, the song became an international hit once again when remade by Cher in 1990.
The song is sung from the point of view of a woman trying to mentor a young girl in identifying true love. She emphatically insists, "it's in his kiss." She becomes frustrated with the girl, who suggests other things such as his behavior and his embrace might instead be the signs she is looking for. The woman scolds the girl for not listening to her, and insists that the one sure sign of true love is seen in a lover's kisses.
Merry Clayton version
The song was rejected by the Shirelles, the premier girl group of the early 1960s,[3] and was first recorded in Los Angeles by Merry Clayton as her first credited single. Clayton had previously provided an uncredited female vocal to the hit "You're the Reason I'm Living" recorded by Bobby Darin as his debut on Capitol Records, and Darin had subsequently arranged for Clayton herself to be signed to Capitol. The composer of "It's in His Kiss", Rudy Clark, was a staff writer for TM Music, which Darin headed. Clayton's recording of the song was produced by Jack Nitzsche and featured Hal Blaine on drums and the Blossoms as chorus. It was released as a single on June 10, 1963, without success.
Clayton performed the song again in the 1987 film
Betty Everett version
Background
Calvin Carter, the chief A&R man for the Chicago-located Vee-Jay Records, found "It's in His Kiss" while visiting New York City in search of material for the Vee-Jay roster which included Betty Everett. After Everett had a hit with another song Carter brought back from New York City, "You're No Good", Carter suggested Everett cut "It's in His Kiss" as the follow-up single. Everett – who found the song puerile – reluctantly agreed. The accompanying vocals on Everett's recording were provided by Vee-Jay session regulars The Opals, a trio of teenage girls (Rose "Tootsie" Addison, Myra Tilliston, and Rose E. Kelley)[5] from East Chicago, Indiana.
Dave Marsh in his book The Heart of Rock and Soul opines that Betty Everett's version, "while [credited] as a solo performance is one of the finest girl group hits, undoubtedly the best one made outside the genre's New York City/Philadelphia/Los Angeles "axis"".[6]
Reception
Everett's version of "The Shoop Shoop Song" reached number 6 on the
Ramona King version
The next recording of "It's in His Kiss" was made in Los Angeles by Ramona King, an R&B singer from San Francisco: this version was produced by
Linda Lewis version
"It's in His Kiss" | ||||
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Single by Linda Lewis | ||||
from the album Not a Little Girl Anymore | ||||
B-side | "Walk About" | |||
Released | 1975 | |||
Recorded | 1975 | |||
Studio | Mediasound, New York City | |||
Genre | Disco | |||
Length | 3:09 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rudy Clark | |||
Producer(s) |
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Linda Lewis singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"It's in His Kiss" on YouTube |
Background
"The Shoop Shoop Song" first became a major UK hit in 1975 via a
Reception
Issued as "It's in His Kiss" — despite containing a variant of the "shoop shoop" background vocal – Lewis' version became a
Linda Ronstadt performances
On the episode of
Cher version
"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" | ||||
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Single by Cher | ||||
from the album Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Mermaids and Love Hurts | ||||
B-side | "Love on a Rooftop" | |||
Released | November 7, 1990 | |||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Rudy Clark | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Asher | |||
Cher singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) (Alternate Version)" on YouTube |
Background
Cher's cover was for the soundtrack of her 1990 film Mermaids, in which it plays during the closing credits, and the single's U.S. release coincided with the November release of the film. It peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number one in the United Kingdom. The song was Cher's first solo number one single; her only previous number one in the United Kingdom had been in 1965 with her then-husband Sonny Bono and their first hit, "I Got You Babe".
Cher's "The Shoop Shoop Song" also topped the charts in Austria, Ireland and Norway; the single achieved a number two peak in Belgium and top ten status in France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden.
The success of the single in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe was reflected in its addition to Love Hurts, her subsequent album, as released in those parts of the world, Australia and New Zealand. "The Shoop Shoop Song" was also included in the album's Canadian release but not in the U.S. "The Shoop Shoop Song" was not available on a U.S. Cher album until the 1999 release of If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits.
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Fun and faithful cover of Betty Everett's pop nugget is lifted from the soundtrack to Cher's new film, "Mermaids". Truly irresistible."[14]
Music video
The original video for "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" was directed by Marty Callner, and made to promote the movie Mermaids. The video features Cher with Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci, who played her daughters in the film, in a music studio in the clothes and styles of the 1960s period of the film, clips of which are shown throughout. Near the end, the video switches from black-and-white to color and Cher and the girls are shown in jeans and leather jackets spray-painting a wall in an alley. A revised video was issued which deleted the clips of the film from the video. The leather jacket at the end of the video is one of the earliest custom Chrome Hearts jackets ever made.
Track listing
- US 7-inch and cassette single
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" – 2:51
- "Love on a Rooftop" – 4:22
- European 7-inch and cassette single
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" – 2:51
- "Baby I'm Yours" – 3:19
- European 12-inch and CD single
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" – 2:51
- "Baby I'm Yours" – 3:19
- "We All Sleep Alone" – 3:53
- 1993 Spanish 12-inch single
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" – 2:51
- "Love and Understanding" – 4:42
- "Save Up All Your Tears" – 3:58
- 1997 US 12-inch single
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Obsession Mix) – 8:21
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Crush Mix) – 8:19
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Ventura Party Dub) – 6:45
- "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (Ventura Radio Edit) – 4:03
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[57] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[58] | Gold | 25,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[59] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
France ( SNEP)[60]
|
Silver | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[61] | Gold | 250,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[64] | Gold | 483,000[63] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | November 7, 1990 |
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Geffen | [citation needed] |
United Kingdom | April 1, 1991 |
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Epic | [65] |
Other versions
- In 1974 the song was remade by Australian band The Bootleg Family Band: "The Shoop Shoop Song" was a top 5 hit for the band who later on became known as Avalanche.[66]
- In 1976 Anne Renée recorded the French language rendering "Embrasse-le" which borrowed the arrangement of the 1975 Linda Lewis disco cover.
- Cash Box said that "although it's a soft rocker, her vocal is energetic and the song resonates with new life."[68]
- Maja Blagdan recorded a Croatian version of the song, titled "Cura za sve" (Girl For Everything). It was included in her 1994 album Bijele ruže (White Roses).[69]
- Thalía recorded a cover in Spanish for her campaign with Hershey's kisses.[70]
- The jukebox musical The Cher Show - which played in Chicago in the summer of 2018 and opened on Broadway in December 2018, features Stephanie J. Block, Micaela Diamond and Teal Wicks as the three aspects of Cher performing "The Shoop Shoop Song": Lauren Katz' review of the Chicago production at PictureThisPost.com mentions that the song is "creatively weaved into the storytelling[, appearing] in Act One in the midst of the early days of [Cher's] romance with Sonny...Cher and her best friends gossip about the possibility of whether or not Sonny is in love with her, and then break into the song. The piece is fun, light-hearted, and full of the hope that young Cher...for her life with this man."[71] Block, Diamond and Wicks recorded the song for the show's Broadway cast album released April 2019.[72]
See also
References
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- ISBN 0-8118-3394-1.
- ^ "The Shirelles". History-of-rock.com. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
- ^ "Maid to Order (1987) - IMDb" – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "The Opals deserve a place among Chicago's greatest girl groups". Chicago Reader. October 21, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
- ISBN 978-0306809019.
- ^ "Linda Lewis: freeing the lark within". SoulMusic.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
- ^ a b Iles, Jan (July 26, 1975). "Lady Linda gets a toe-hold". Record Mirror. p. 8.
- ^ ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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- ^ "Phoebe Snow: the Out in Hollywood Interview". Blogs.Dailynews.com. October 17, 2008. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
- ^ "Mad Love". St Petersburg Times. 96 (170): 53. January 10, 1980.
- ^ Flick, Larry (November 10, 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 91. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
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- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1436." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
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- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 29. July 20, 1991. p. 24. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
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- Les classement single. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Íslenski Listinn NR. 302 Vikuna 25.01.1991". Dagblaðið Vísir. January 25, 1991. p. 32.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Cher – The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)". VG-lista. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
- ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 24. June 15, 1991. p. 22. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
- ^ "Palmarès de la chanson anglophone et allophone au Québec" (PDF) (in French). BAnQ. Archived from the original on November 29, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
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- ^ "Cher Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
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- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
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- Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
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