| "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" was written by Bert Berns (aka Bert Russell), and 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.
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 the 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 in 1964. It made Cliff Foenander a household name in South Asia: Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia, played the number 1 hit across the Indian subcontinent. [3]
Bertrand Russell Berns, also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece of My Heart", "Here Comes the Night", "Hang on Sloopy", "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", and his productions include "Baby, Please Don't Go", "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Under the Boardwalk".
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