Twist with Bobby Darin was released in mono and stereo in December of 1961 and peaked at number 48 on the Billboard charts, remaining there for 31 weeks. The dance album is a collection of rock songs, all of which have backbeat suitable for, obviously, twisting. An amazing seven of the twelve songs from Twist with Bobby Darin were included on The Best of Bobby Darin, Vol. 1 and the remaining five are on Rare Rockin' & Unreleased. That so many of the songs from this record are part of
Darin's "best" does not mean that this is his best album. In fact, Twist with Bobby Darin was something of a stop-gap album.
For Teenagers Only was released in September of 1960 and failed to chart. Five of the songs from that LP ("Keep a Walkin," "You Know How," "Somebody to Love," "I Ain't Sharin Sharon," "Pity Miss Kitty") were included on Twist for some reason, meaning that only seven of the songs were new. The new tunes, however, were among his strongest. The entire first side (and first six songs) are all
Bobby Darin compositions.
Darin had not released his own songs in a few years and maybe Atco was not sure they would sell records themselves. Side two included the hit "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" which was written by
Johnny Mercer and
Harry Warren. ~ JT Griffith