| "A Little Bit of Soap" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by the Jarmels | |
| B-side | "The Way You Look Tonight (Swing Time)" |
| Released | July 3, 1961 |
| Recorded | 1961 |
| Genre | Doo-wop |
| Length | 2:13 |
| Label | Laurie |
| Songwriter(s) | Bert Berns (aka Bert Russell) |
"A Little Bit of Soap", written by Bert Berns (aka Bert Russell), was a song, first sung in a bluesy soul style by the Jarmels, who reached number 12 with it in September 1961 and number 7 on the R&B charts.[1] The song has been covered by many other artists.
Reception
The song was a major hit in the United States when it was first released. It reached the Top Ten on the Canadian charts, and Top Twenty in Australia in 1970 for Paul Davis.[2] It was his first charting single release. "A Little Bit of Soap" was a huge hit in southeast Asia when the Hong Kong-based group Cliff Foenander and the Fabulous Echoes released it as a single. It spent 25 weeks at number 1 in top ten charts in 1963 in southeast Asia.[3] Foenander and the Fabulous Echoes also sang the hit in Las Vegas, USA, in 1964. It made Cliff Foenander a household name in South Asia: Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, played the number one hit across the Indian subcontinent.[3]
Remakes
- Garnet Mimms' 1964 remake of "A Little Bit of Soap" - produced by Jerry Ragovoy - reached number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1965
- The song's composer Bert Berns produced a 1965 remake by the Exciters which reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1966.
- Paul Davis remade the song in 1970: recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio this version - co-produced by Davis with Bert Berns' widow Ilene Berns - reached number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1970[4]
- The Pioneers released a reggae version of "A Little Bit of Soap" in 1973 on Trojan Records. [5]
- Nigel Olsson's version hit number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart in June 1979.[6] The versions by the Exciters, Paul Davis and Nigel Olsson were all recorded for Bang Records, the label which Bert Berns had founded in 1965.
- Showaddywaddy released a version of "A Little Bit of Soap" in 1978, affording the song its sole appearance on the UK Singles Chart as it reached No. 5 in July 1978.[7]
- Daniel Johnston also covered it.
Samples
- De La Soul sampled it for a different song with the same name, featured on their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising.
Popular culture
- The song was featured in the 2019 Netflix film El Camino: A Breaking Bad movie.
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel, The Billboard Book of TOP 40 R&B and Hip Hop Hits, Billboard Books, New York 2006
- ↑ Go-Set Australian charts – 22 August 1970
- 1 2 "Remembering Cliff Foenander of the Fabulous Echoes". worldmusiccentral.org. November 10, 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-09-21.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 220.
- ↑ "The Pioneers – A Little Bit Of Soap / Hit Me With Music". Discogs. 1973. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
- ↑ Nigel Olsson, "Little Bit of Soap" chart position Retrieved June 19, 2016.
- ↑ "officialcharts.com". Official Charts. Retrieved April 6, 2021.