Who Did It Better? The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)

Who Did It Better? 

The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)

Today's Who Did It Better? entry is something of a cherished classic, recorded by many artists and charting in several different decades. However, it's initial release proved to be quite the contest with three established R&B artists taking it on - two of them at the same time. 

 
It's in His Kiss is a song written by Rudy Clark. It was first offered to the Shirelles, who turned it down. 

Instead, thanks to a debt owed by Bobby Darin, it was handed to Merry Clayton  See, Clayton had provided uncredited vocals to Darin's hit, You're The Reason I'm Living. Based on that song's success, Darin got Clayton signed to his record label, Capitol Records. He was also the head of TM Music, for whom Rudy Clark was a staff writer. After hearing the song, Darin quickly put together a recording session in Los Angeles for Clayton, produced by Jack Nitzsche (Phil Spector, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young) with the girl group The Blossoms on backing vocals. It was released under the title It's In His Kiss, as a single with high hopes on June 10, 1963. However, the song failed to chart. 

Calvin Carter, the chief A&R man for the Chicago-based Vee-Jay Records, stumbled on a copy of It's In His Kiss while visiting New York City. He was searching for new material for the label's roster of stars, which included Betty Everett. Everett had recently scored big with another song Carter brought back from New York City, You're No Good. He offered It's In His Kiss to Everett, who thought the song was puerile, but reluctantly signed on. She was to be backed up by Vee-Jay session regulars the Opals, a trio of teen girls from East Chicago, Indiana.

At the same time Everett was in the studio, It's in His Kiss was being recorded in Los Angeles by San Francisco's own, Ramona King. King's version was released on Warner Brothers Records in February 1964, the week prior to the release of Everett's version. Fearing competition and confusion, Vee-Jay decided to issue Everett's version under the title The Shoop Shoop Song - a reference to the song's background vocals. 

Everett's version reached #6 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart in the spring of 1964. While, Billboard was not publishing its R&B chart yet, Cash Box, a competing charting service, was keeping track of those sales. According to Cash Box? Everett had a #1 R&B smash. Internationally, Everett's version also did well, hitting #21 in Australia and, later, #34 in the UK.

In 1975, Linda Lewis would have a UK Top Ten hit with her disco version of It's In His Kiss. After she performed the song on TOTP, the song subsequently spent three weeks in the UK Top Ten, peaking at #6. 

A decade or so later, the song would figure predominantly in two films, 1987's Ally Sheehy vehicle, Maid To Order and 1990's Mermaids, starring Cher.

 

Merry Clayton, who had a major supporting role in Maid To Order, performed the song as part of the film's climactic scene, while Cher's version was featured during the closing credits of her film Mermaids. Thanks to it's accompanying video, featuring a pint-sized Christina Ricci and a very young Winona Ryder, Cher's version became an international hit, reaching #33 in the US, #21 in Canada, #5 in the Netherlands, #4 in Switzerland and Australia, #3 in Germany, and #1 in the UK, Ireland and Austria.

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)

The Competitors: Clayton vs. Everett vs. King

It's In His Kiss - Merry Clayton

The Shoop Shoop Song - Betty Everett

It's In His Kiss - Ramona King

Merry Clayton

This is a lot of fun. A very simple intro, reminding me of Lulu for some reason. Merry Clayton is a full-voiced wonder. If you want to learn more about her, check out the documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom. I was fortunate enough to have a copy of her 1980 Emotions album. The lady slays every time.

Here, she's in fine voice - maybe over-singing a bit considering what lightweight fare she's working with. That very basic arrangement supporting her is fine, if a bit generic, even for the times. The backing vocals are spic and span clean, something that stands out in contrast to all the grit Clayton is bringing to the table. My only complaint? They bury one of the hooks (shoop, shoop, shoop.) It's there, but you can barely hear it, which means it did not carry over the radio with aplomb. 

I think it's the double-timed bridge that kills this one. That cowbell and the galloping pace? No. Not what I want. Once that's resolved and we resume that wonderful conga trot, it could be argued that Clayton, giving it her all, is a tad too much. 

Ooo. A Tijuana Brass-like instrumental interlude... no. Oh, this is too bad. I bet this would have taken off if they hadn't messed with the bridge and then added those horns. 

I rather love the simplicity found in the rest of the song. It's very fun.

Betty Everett

Wow. That opening. Perfection. Great reverb on her voice. Punctuated rhythmically perfect with those xylophone stings. The backing vocals are a bit too coy for my taste, but 'shoop, shoop, shoop' is sure showcased well. 

Also, I don't believe Everett is holding back at all, yet, her vocals hit my ear as both more focused and a bit smoother than Clayton's. 

Those backing vocals lack energy. That almost kills this for me. But they redeem themselves with a great vocal arrangement. Those wedding bells (bum, bum bum, bum) on the bridge are wonderful fun. And notice how they don't mess with the tempo or tone of the piece on that bridge? It just flows. Everett sounds great.

The instrumental break is so funny. There's a couples dance that I want to do to this. A rhumba? Not a cha-cha? I have to look it up. The characters on The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Amy do it when they go dancing together, so all I can do is picture them. Yes, it's period and yes, it's a little campy, but fun. Note the different role the horns play, taking a backseat to the skeletal sounding  xylophone. 

The repeated bridge after the instrumental is a nice touch, adding a bit of time to the number, too.

A real classic. Some of Everett's phrasing is hardwired in our collective consciousness.

Ramona King

This is a very similar opening to Clayton's version (which reminds me, for some reason, of The Hawks - who became The Band - and their song, He Don't Love You.)

Huh. Those vocals feel dragged out and kind of messy. This, by the way, is produced and arranged by a couple of former Phil Spector (The Wall Of Sound) engineers. So, that's why it sounds the way it does.

Ramona's voice is very different than Clayton's or Everett's. It lacks bottom, with a much more pronounced point to it's overall tone. Hers, in a very traditional manner, might be termed prettier, though it lacks the depth and soulfulness of either of the other two women. Instead, we're greeted by something more traditionally melodious sounding where the pop edges are thrown away in order to connect note to note.  There's also an airiness to her vocals which makes singing in that manner almost mandatory.

The backing vocals are fine, except during they bridge, when they seem to back way the hell up, to the point where they don't really register much. I do like the bridge here. It's very clean. I just think it needs to be a lot more fun. I am missing the interplay between the lead vocalist and the back up singers. All the edges are smoothed over here, making one almost indistinguishable from the other. 

That instrumental section... oh, dear. Well, at least it's brief. And then we go into an almost ska beat near the end. Interesting. 

The Verdict

Well, I for one love the 'shoop, shoop' part. Without it? I'm not as in love with the song. It's fun, but it's even more so with those particular backing vocals.

Everett has the best performance here, overall, though I think Clayton might be the better singer (her gospel overtones are truly soulful.) Clayton's is a very forceful performance, while Everett plays with the dynamics of the piece and ends up creating some truly memorable phrasing. Since Everett didn't think much of the song, she could have easily just phoned it in, but instead brings her unique charms to the table. 

Ramona King? A nice voice, but not one I would seek out or call truly memorable. Her performance here feels a tad rote. I also believe that whatever her personal spin might have been on this is quashed by the heavy-handed production. 

So, this, for me, goes to Everett. 

Why? 

Because it's really, really fun!

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Okay, you're turn. Let me know your thoughts. Leave your choice and opinion in the comments section. I love to hear a differing point of view. 

That's all for now.

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!

The Shoop Shoop Song - Betty Everett

The Shoop Shoop Song - Aretha Franklin

It's In His Kiss - Linda Lewis

It's In His Kiss - Linda Lewis

It's In His Kiss - Merry Clayton

from the film Maid To Order

The Shoop Shoop Song - Cher