LADIES FIRST: "Needles and Pins" - Jackie DeShannon > The Searchers

LADIES FIRST hips you to classics that 'she did first'.

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"Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk Into the Room" were first done by Jackie DeShannon.

This Kentucky singer-songwriter-guitarist is much beloved in many hip circles for her crack tunes and cool range; her rockabilly barnburner "Trouble", her pop smash with Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now", her Beat music classic "Dream Boy" (with boyfriend Jimmy Page), her counterculture anthem "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", and for writing the classic "Bette Davis Eyes".

("Needles and Pins" was written by Sony Bono with Jack Nitzsche, the great arranger and producer. "When You Walk In the Room" is by Jackie DeShannon.)


JACKIE DeSHANNON -"Needles and Pins" (1963)



THE SEARCHERS are hardly slouches either. They made their fame interpreting Jackie's two songs, but have a wealth of great ones of their own, spanning from Beat into Psychedelia. You can always count on this band for catchy guitars and shining harmonies.

THE SEARCHERS -"Needles and Pins" (1964)

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Jackie's sound here was heavily influence by the guitar jangle of The Beatles, whom she was touring with.

JACKIE DeSHANNON -"When You Walk In the Room" (1963)



THE SEARCHERS -"When You Walk In the Room" (1964)



"I can hear guitars playing lovely tunes
Every time that you walk in the room
Trumpets sound, I hear thunder boom
Every time that you walk in the room"


© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

-WOMEN OF ROCK: The 1960s, with 2 Music Players

• THE BRITISH INVASION!, with Music Player!


• LADIES FIRST: "I Can't Let Go" - Evie Sands > The Hollies

• LADIES FIRST: "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat?" - Goldie And The Gingerbreads > Herman's Hermits

• LADIES FIRST: "I Go To Sleep" - (The Kinks) > Peggy Lee > Cher > The Pretenders


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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ROCK Sex: "Walk On By" - Dionne Warwick > Isaac Hayes > The Stranglers > Hooverphonic > Mono > Pete Rock

ROCK Sex dishes the dirt on the clandestine liaisons of music.

Some songs are so resonant that they reverberate beyond any time or style. "Walk On By" is one of those.

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The original was the breakthrough hit for diva Dionne Warwick and her write-hand man Burt Bacharach:

DIONNE WARWICK -"Walk On By" (1964)



Covered immediately by everyone, it took a radical left turn when Isaac Hayes turned it into a 12-minute funk-rock masterpiece. It's my unhumble opinion that the epic build of strings and psychedelic guitar is one of the greatest intros in Pop history:

ISAAC HAYES -"Walk On By" (1969, long version)



Later it came full circle when Dionne and Isaac performed it together on their live album:

DIONNE WARWICK & ISAAC HAYES -"Walk On By" (1977, live)



The Punk band The Stranglers put some fuzzy edge back into it:

THE STRANGLERS -"Walk On By" (1978)



And El Michels Affair brought back the hot buttered Funk to it.

EL MICHELS AFFAIR -"Walk On By" (2006)

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The fantastic beat of Isaac Hayes' version became a sampler's paradise, crossing the intersections of TripHop and HipHop.

Here's the Belgian alchemists Hooverphonic with their debut hit:

HOOVERPHONIC -"2 Wicky" (1996)



Taking a subtler tact, the British duo Mono played to the cinematic qualities of TripHop by synching it with the moody keys and guitar of Roy Budd's GET CARTER soundtrack, as seen this creepy David Lynch-ian video:

MONO -"Silicone" (1997)



The beat has figured in samples by Compton's Most Wanted (1991), Notorious B.I.G. (1994), Slick Rick, DJ Shadow (1996), MF Doom (1999), The Wu Tang Clan (2000), Ludacris (2003), J Dilla (2006, using The Undisputed Truth's version), and Pete Rock:

PETE ROCK -"Walk On By" (2001)



And Dionne's version has been homaged in songs by Ashanti(2002), Alisha Keys (2003), and Joss Stone (2007).



© Tym Stevens

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See Also:

• SHAKE AND FINGER POP! Soul Music and the Interior Truth, with Music Player!

• FUNK, The True History: The 1960s, with 3 Music Players!

• "Time Is Tight!" - Booker T > The Clash > Elvis Costello > Squeeze

• "I Thank You" - Sam And Dave > ZZ Top

• "Sour Times" - Lalo Schifrin > Portishead


• The Real History of Rock and Soul!: The Music Player Checklist

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