Bruce Springsteen famously took No, not the album; we’re talking just the track. Fortunately for The Boss, that insane amount of time paid off, and “Born to Run” is considered one of the greatest songs of all time. Truth be told, even after all these years, the song still sounds magical, especially if it happens to come on the radio while driving with the windows down on a warm summer night.
However, not every magical song takes six months to record. In fact, some really incredible songs were recorded in just one take. Talk about magical!
That’s what we’re going to explore in this list: rock songs recorded in one take. Some of these recordings happened on a whim, and some of them were recorded under an unexpected amount of stress. Regardless, these songs somehow managed to stick the landing in a single take.
Here are five iconic rock songs recorded in one take.
The Beatles – “Twist and Shout” (1963)
Originally recorded by The Top Notes in 1961, The Beatles recorded their version of “Twist and Shout” in 1963 for their debut album, Please Please Me. On the day of recording, John Lennon was battling a cold, and The Beatles were booked in the studio for the whole day. Lennon tried to soothe his scratchy voice with lozenges throughout the session.
“Twist and Shout” ended up being the final song the band recorded on that day. When Lennon recorded his vocals, he sounded uncharacteristically raspy when compared to his other vocal recordings. There was an attempt at a second take, but Lennon had, essentially, blown out his voice. Fortunately, when the first take was played back, everyone really liked it, and rightfully so. There’s an unmistakable grit and earnestness to Lennon’s vocals. ! Sure, Ferris had swag, but Lennon did a lot of the heavy lifting.
R.E.M. – “Losing My Religion” (1991)
“Losing My Religion” took R.E.M. to new heights, so it’s incredible to know this hit was only recorded in one take. In fact, the song came together rather quickly, too. Guitarist Peter Buck wrote in the liner notes of the band’s 2003 compilation In Time (via ), “The music was written in five minutes. The first time the band played it, it fell into place perfectly. Michael had the lyrics within the hour, and while playing the song for the third or fourth time, I found myself incredibly moved to hear the vocals in conjunction with the music. To me, ‘Losing My Religion’ feels like some kind of archetype that was floating around in space that we managed to lasso. If only all songwriting was this easy.”
As for the recording process, Michael Stipe overshared with Top 2000 (via ), “I was very upset. I also got really hot because I was all worked up, so I took my clothes off and recorded the song almost naked.”
The Animals – “House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
Some covers are so good that they become the property of the artist who recorded them. Even though “House of the Rising Sun” is an American folk song, it just feels like British blues rockers The Animals are the rightful owners, which really isn’t a stretch. Once you hear guitarist Hilton Valentine’s intro and then Eric Burdon’s growl, “There is a house in New Orleans…”, it’s a recipe for instant chills.
notes The Animals were opening for Chuck Berry when they first started performing “House of the Rising Sun” as their set closer, and the audiences loved it. Despite that, producer Mickie Most wasn’t convinced it was a single due to its length. As a result, he only allowed recording time for one take, but fortunately, that was all that was needed.
The Kingsman – “Louie Louie” (1963)
Considering how loose The Kingsman’s version of “Louie Louie” was, you’d think someone would suggest a take two. Nope, it was one and done for this iconic one-hit wonder, whose lyrics are so slurred and garbled that the Feds were convinced singer Jack Ely was saying something filthy. The uptight squares at the FBI were so concerned that they launched an investigation into the song! According to a profile by , this investigation was prompted by parents, who were also uptight squares, who wrote to the FBI about their concerns about this song due to the indecipherable lyrics. Meanwhile, songs like “” exist today. The ’60s were just a different time.
Elvis Presley – “That’s All Right” (1954)
One of rock and roll’s earliest hits just so happens to have been recorded in one take. Recorded in the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis on July 5, 1954, Sam Phillips initially arranged for guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black to work with a then-unknown Elvis Presley, after Presley’s previous recording sessions the summer before.
states the three musicians just weren’t gelling, so Phillips told them to take a break. Instead of taking a break, Presley decided to noodle around with an uptempo arrangement of Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right.” The version caught Phillips’s ear, he called Moore and Black back into the studio from their break, and they recorded “That’s All Right” in one take. Two days later, the song was brought to local Memphis radio station WHBQ, and the rest is history.
