Artist Biography Below by Jason Ankeny
Best known for his decade-plus stint in support of Bobby "Blue" Bland, Mel Brown channeled elements of soul, funk, and jazz to create one of the most distinctive guitar styles in contemporary blues. Born October 7, 1939, in Jackson, MS, Brown received his first guitar at the age of 14 while battling meningitis, spending hours each day studying the music of idols like B.B. King and T-Bone Walker from his sickbed. His father, John Henry "Bubba" Brown, a gifted amateur guitarist who often backed Delta legend Tommy Johnson, was another seminal influence. After recovering from his illness, Brown joined the Duke Juniors, a teenaged spinoff of the popular local society band the Duke Huddleston Orchestra. Word of his prodigious abilities spread quickly throughout the region, and at 15, he played a series of gigs backing the great Sonny Boy Williamson. After a brief stint in Los Angeles, Brown returned to Jackson in 1955, honing his skills under Huddleston before permanently settling in L.A. three years later. After a six-month stretch with West Coast R&B singer Jimmy Beasley, Brown spent two years backing R&B great Johnny Otis. In late 1960, he toured with the Olympics, followed by a two-year tour of duty with the great Etta James. Most significantly, while touring with James he swapped his Les Paul for a hollow-bodied Gibson ES-175, later crediting the instrument for the warm, rich tone that set him apart from rival guitarists.
By 1963 the grind of touring forced Brown off the road. He returned to L.A. and resumed his collaboration with Otis, enjoying an extended residency at the Club Sands. He also launched a session career, playing on records by everyone from Bobby Darin to Bill Cosby as well as T-Bone Walker's Funky Town LP. His contributions so impressed ABC/Impulse! producer Bob Thiele that he invited Brown to cut his own album for the label: 1967's Chicken Fat, a wonderfully greasy blues-funk outing pairing Brown with fellow guitarist Herb Ellis, remains a cult classic. A series of impressive LPs including The Wizard, I'd Rather Suck My Thumb, and Big Foot Country Gal followed in quick succession before Brown joined Bland in 1971, appearing on the singer's classic California Album two years later. During his stint with Bland, the guitarist also moonlighted behind blues legends John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Roy Brown, and in 1976 he relocated to Nashville, where he maintained an even busier session schedule than in Los Angeles. Upon resuming his collaboration with Bland, Brown made the decision to temporarily abandon guitar in favor of the piano. He remained with the singer until 1982, putting his performing career on hiatus and moving to remote northeast Mississippi in an attempt to escape the music business.
Brown resurfaced in 1983 as a member of the house band at the legendary Austin, TX, blues joint Antone's. In the years to follow, he backed everyone from Buddy Guy to Stevie Ray Vaughan to Clifton Chenier. In 1986, he accepted Albert Collins' offer to join his band the Icebreakers, recording the acclaimed LP Cold Snap before returning to Antone's. In 1989, he resumed his solo career with If It's All Night, It's All Right, released on the club's eponymous label. A few months later Brown headlined the Kitchener, Ontario, venue the Pop-the-Gator Club, finding the experience so much to his liking that he relocated to Canada in early 1990. There he formed a new band, the Homewreckers, and steadily toured the southern Ontario nightclub circuit, finally reappearing on wax in 1998 as a guest on Snooky Pryor's Can't Stop Blowin'. Brown's Electro-Fi label debut, Neck Bones & Caviar, followed a year later, winning the W.C. Handy Award for Blues Comeback of the Year. With 2000's co-headlined Double Shot!, he and Pryor earned a W.C. Handy nomination for Traditional Blues Album of the Year. The concert disc Homewreckin' Done Live followed a year later. After another five-year layoff from recording, Brown issued Blues: A Beautiful Thing in early 2006.
Source: AllMusic Biography - Mel Brown
You can also see Mel Brown & the Homewreckers and / or Mel Brown And The Homewreckers on Last.fm.
Twist & Shout
Mel Brown Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Twist and shout
Come on, come on, come, come on baby now
Come on and work it on out
Well, work it on out, honey
You know you look so good
You know you got me goin' now
Just like I know you would
Well, shake it up baby now
Twist and shout
Come on, come on, come, come on baby now
Come on and work it on out
You know you twist, little girl
You know you twist so fine
Come on and twist a little closer now
And let me know that you're mine, woo
Ah, ah, ah, ah, wow
Baby now
Twist and shout
Come on, come on, come, come on baby now
Come on and work it on out
You know you twist, little girl
You know you twist so fine
Come on and twist a little closer now
And let me know that you're mine
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now
Ah, ah, ah, ah
The lyrics to Mel Brown's "Twist & Shout" portray a scene of youthful energy and desire for physical connection. The repeated lines "shake it up baby now, twist and shout" encourage the listener to let loose and move their body, perhaps in a dance or simply through physical expression. The confident and seductive tone continues as the lyrics describe how the subject looks "so good" and has the singer "goin' now," implying a level of attraction or infatuation.
The song's climax comes with the line "and let me know that you're mine," which can be interpreted in different ways. It could simply mean the desire for physical connection or it could be a more romantic or possessive sentiment. The repetition of the chorus, with slight variations, reinforces the message of physicality and excitement.
Overall, the lyrics to "Twist & Shout" depict a timeless theme of youthful desire and energy, with a focus on physicality and movement as a means of expression.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, shake it up baby now
Encourages someone to move swiftly and energetically with an upbeat and lively attitude
Twist and shout
Suggests twirling and turning while shouting out in exuberance
Come on, come on, come, come on baby now
An enthusiastic request to join in on the fun and excitement
Come on and work it on out
To continue moving energetically and putting effort into it
You know you look so good
A compliment on someone's appearance and expression of attraction towards them
You know you got me goin' now
An admission of being thoroughly engaged and excited by the other person
Just like I know you would
An acknowledgment of anticipated and expected exciting behaviors by the other person
You know you twist, little girl
A recognition of the other person's dance moves so far and an encouragement to keep going
You know you twist so fine
An admiring compliment on the fluid and beautiful movements
Come on and twist a little closer now
An invitation to get even more engaged and closer in physical proximity
And let me know that you're mine, woo
An expression of ownership and desire towards the other person
Ah, ah, ah, ah, wow
An exclamation of amazement and pleasure
Baby now
A loving nickname given to the other person
Well, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby now
An intensification of the encouragement to keep moving with increasing energy and strength
Ah, ah, ah, ah
An expression of enjoyment and euphoria
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: Bert Russell, Phil Medley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind