"Mashed Potato Time" | ||||
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Single by Dee Dee Sharp | ||||
from the album It's Mashed Potato Time | ||||
B-side | "Set My Heart at Ease" | |||
Released | 1962 | |||
Recorded | 1962 | |||
Genre | R&B, pop | |||
Length | 2:27 | |||
Label | Cameo | |||
Songwriter(s) | Kal Mann, Bernie Lowe | |||
Producer(s) | Kal Mann | |||
Dee Dee Sharp singles chronology | ||||
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"Mashed Potato Time" is a 1962 single written by Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe, and performed by Dee Dee Sharp, with backing vocals by The Orlons, on her debut album It's Mashed Potato Time . The song refers to the Mashed Potato dance move, which was a fad. It was one of several songs that at that time that referenced the dance, another being James Brown's "Mashed Potatoes U.S.A." [1] The Marvelettes song "Please Mr. Postman" is mentioned in the lyrics and is copied in the arrangement. Also mentioned in the lyrics are the songs "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the Tokens and "Dear Lady Twist" by Gary U.S. Bonds. Sharp recorded a sequel to "Mashed Potato Time" called "Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)".
In 1996 the Campbell Soup Company featured the song in a $30 million advertising campaign, using a new, more upbeat recording by Sharp. [2]
The song reached No. 1 on the Cashbox Top 100 and Billboard R&B charts in 1962, [3] as well as No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [4] It was kept from the No. 1 spot by "Soldier Boy" by The Shirelles. [5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 3 song for 1962. [6] It became a gold record. In Canada it was No. 2 for 2 weeks, also due to The Shirelles. [7]
The twist is a dance that was inspired by rock and roll music. From 1959 to the early sixties it became a worldwide dance craze, enjoying immense popularity while drawing controversies from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed Potato, the Monkey, and the Funky Chicken, but none were as popular.
The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. The dance move and mashed potato song were first made famous by James Brown in 1959 and used in his concerts regularly. It was also a dance done to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". The move vaguely resembles that of the twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian Chubby Checker. The dance was first popularized internationally after being named in the lyrics of Motown's first mega-hit in the song "Do You Love Me" written by Berry Gordy Jr. and performed by The Contours in 1962.
"Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns. It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers in 1962. The song has been covered by several artists, including the Beatles, Salt-N-Pepa, The Astronauts and Chaka Demus & Pliers, who experienced chart success with their versions.
Rosetta Jeanette Hightower was an American singer and the lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Orlons. She was born in Philadelphia.
The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart, and Georgia Dobbins, who was replaced by Wanda Young prior to the group signing their first deal. They were the first successful act of Motown Records after the Miracles and its first significantly successful female group after the release of the 1961 number-one single, "Please Mr. Postman", one of the first number-one singles recorded by an all-female vocal group and the first by a Motown recording act.
Robert George Pickett, better known as Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for co-writing and performing the 1962 smash hit novelty song "Monster Mash".
"Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes. The "Monster Mash" single was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 20–27 of that year, just before Halloween. It has been a perennial Halloween favorite ever since. In 2021, nearly 60 years after its release, "Monster Mash" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37.
Dee Dee Sharp is an American R&B singer, who began her career recording as a backing vocalist in 1961.
"Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. The single achieved this position in late 1961; it hit number one on the R&B chart as well. "Please Mr. Postman" became a number-one hit again in early 1975 when The Carpenters' cover of the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100. "Please Mr. Postman" has been covered several times, including by the British rock group the Beatles in 1963. The 2017 song "Feel It Still" by Portugal. The Man draws on "Please Mr. Postman" and includes a credit for Brian Holland.
"A Taste of Honey" is a pop standard written by Bobby Scott and Ric Marlow. It was originally an instrumental track written for the 1960 Broadway version of the 1958 British play A Taste of Honey which was also made into the film of the same name in 1961. The original and a later recording by Herb Alpert in 1965 earned the song four Grammy Awards.
"Baby It's You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music), Luther Dixon, and Mack David (lyrics). It was recorded by the Shirelles and the Beatles and was a hit for both. The highest-charting version of "Baby It's You" was by the band Smith, who took the track to No.5 on the US charts in 1969.
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow", sometimes known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song with words by Gerry Goffin and music composed by Carole King. It was recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles at Bell Sound Studios in New York City, and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was the first by an African-American all-girl group to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many other artists, including a version by co-writer King released on her 1971 album Tapestry.
The Blossoms were an American girl group that originated from California. During their height of success in the 1960s, the group's lineup consisted of Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Jean King.
"Beechwood 4-5789" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and George Gordy. It was a 1962 hit single for the Motown girl group The Marvelettes on Motown's Tamla subsidiary record label. The song became a hit again when it was covered by the pop duo The Carpenters in 1982.
"Twistin' Postman" is a song recorded by Motown singing group The Marvelettes, who released it in 1961, and was the follow-up to their smash debut single, "Please Mr. Postman".
Robert Bateman was an American R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. Among other songs, he co-wrote the hits "Please Mr. Postman" and "If You Need Me".
"Slow Twistin'" is a song written by Jon Sheldon, and recorded by American rock and roll musicians Chubby Checker and Dee Dee Sharp. Released as a single in 1962, it peaked at number 3 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B singles chart. In Canada it reached number 18.
"Ooh Poo Pah Doo" is a song written and performed by Jessie Hill. It was arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint. The single reached No. 3 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 28 on the Hot 100 in 1960.
"Dear Lady Twist" is a song written and produced by Frank Guida, and performed by Gary U.S. Bonds. It reached #5 on the U.S. R&B chart and #9 on the U.S. pop chart in 1962. It was featured on his 1962 album Twist Up Calypso.