Needles and Pins (song)

"Needles and Pins"
Side A of the original US single
Single by Jackie DeShannon
from the album Jackie DeShannon
B-side	"Did He Call Today, Mama?"
Released	April 11, 1963
Genre	Rock[1] folk[1] soul[1]
Length	2:30
Label	Liberty F-55563
Songwriters	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer	Dick Glasser

"Needles and Pins" is a rock song credited to American songwriters Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono. Jackie DeShannon recorded it in 1963 and other versions followed. The most successful ones were by the Searchers, whose version reached No. 1 on the UK singles chart in 1964, and Smokie, who had a worldwide hit in 1977. Others who have notably recorded the song include fellow singer and Bono's then-wife Cher, the Ramones, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks.

Jackie DeShannon version

In his autobiography, Bono states that he sang along with Nitzsche's guitar-playing, thus creating both the tune and the lyrics, being guided by the chord progressions.^[2] However, Jackie DeShannon claims that the song was written at the piano, and that she was a full participant in the song's creation, along with Nitzsche and Bono, although she did not get formal credit.^[3][4]

DeShannon was the first to record the song; in the US it peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in May 1963.^[5] Though it was only a minor US hit, DeShannon's recording of the song topped the charts in Canada, hitting number one on the CHUM Chart in July 1963.^[6]

Chart (1963)	Peak position
Canada (CHUM Hit Parade)[6]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	84

The Searchers version

"Needles and Pins"
Side A of the original UK single
Single by the Searchers
from the album It's the Searchers
B-side	"Saturday Night Out"
Released	January 7, 1964
Recorded	December 16–17, 1963
Studio	Pye, London
Genre	Jangle pop[7][8] folk rock[8]
Length	2:14
Label	Pye (UK)[9] Kapp (US)
Songwriters	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer	Tony Hatch[9]
The Searchers singles chronology
"Sweet Nothins" (1963) "Needles and Pins" (1964) "Don't Throw Your Love Away" (1964)

The Searchers heard British performer Cliff Bennett perform "Needles and Pins" at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, instantly wanted it to be their next single and recorded it before Cliff Bennett could.^[10] The band recorded their version on December 16 and 17, 1963 at Pye Studios.^[11][12] The Pye Records single was released on January 7, 1964.^[9][13] It was number one in the United Kingdom,^[9] Ireland and South Africa and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the United States. Soon after, in April 1964, "Needles and Pins" appeared on the Searchers' next album, It's the Searchers.

Audible during the Searchers' recording of "Needles and Pins" is a faulty bass drum pedal, which squeaks throughout the song. It is particularly noticeable during the opening of the number.

Part of the Searchers' version can be heard as the intro of the song "Use the Man" from Megadeth's Cryptic Writings album, although it does not appear on the remastered version.

A German version sung by the Searchers is called "Tausend Nadelstiche".^[14]

Charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
Canada[15]	14
Finnish Singles Charts[16]	31
French Singles Chart	29
German Singles Chart[17]	8
Irish Singles Chart[18]	1
Norway (VG-lista)[19]	5
Swedish Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart[20]	1
US Billboard Hot 100	13
Norwegian Singles Chart[21]	8
South African Singles Chart	1

Smokie version

"Needles and Pins"
Side A of the original UK single
Single by Smokie
from the album Bright Lights & Back Alleys
B-side	"No One Could Ever Love You More"
Released	September 30, 1977[22]
Length	2:41
Label	RAK
Songwriters	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer	Mike Chapman
Smokie singles chronology
"It's Your Life" (1977) "Needles and Pins" (1977) "For a Few Dollars More" (1978)

In 1977, at the height of their popularity, English rock band Smokie recorded the song as a rock ballad for the album Bright Lights & Back Alleys, and got a European and an Australian hit with "Needles and Pins". The song reached number one in Austria. Later, ex-Smokie vocalist Chris Norman included his solo cover of the song on his studio album Full Circle (2000).^[23]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–78)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)[24]	10
Australia (Kent Music Report)[25]	7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[27]	5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[28]	17
Germany (GfK)[29]	2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30]	5
Norway (VG-lista)[31]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32]	7
US Billboard Hot 100[33]	68

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Needles and Pins"

Chart (1978)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[34]	48

Ramones version

"Needles and Pins"
Japanese single sleeve
Single by Ramones
from the album Road to Ruin
B-side	"I Wanted Everything"
Released	February 1979
Genre	Punk rock[35] surf punk[36] bubblegum[37]
Length	2:20
Label	Sire
Producers	T. Erdelyi, Ed Stasium
Ramones singles chronology
"Do You Wanna Dance?" (1979) "Needles and Pins" (1979) "Rock 'n' Roll High School" (1978)
Audio
"Needles and Pins" on YouTube

The Ramones' cover of "Needles and Pins" appears on their fourth studio album, Road to Ruin, released in 1978. The version of the song that appeared on the album was later issued as a single.

The Ramones' version of "Needles and Pins" is notable within their early catalog. Its inclusion marks an instance where the band chose to record a melodic, pop-oriented song. The track was one of a small handful of songs on the Road to Ruin album that pushed beyond the extremely short, rigid song structure that defined their first three records. This approach to recording classic-style pop music in their punk-rock style was consistent with the band's appreciation for 1960s rock and roll.

Rolling Stone critic Charles Young noted that the song could have easily been a joke, but was not since Joey "really puts his guts into these antiquated but beautiful lyrics and pulls it off".^[38]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers version

"Needles and Pins"
Single by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers featuring Stevie Nicks
from the album Pack up the Plantation: Live!
Released	December 1985
Recorded	June 1981
Venue	The Forum, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	2:25
Label	MCA
Songwriters	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers singles chronology
"So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star (Live)" (1985) "Needles and Pins" (1985) "Refugee (Live)" (1986)
Stevie Nicks singles chronology
"I Can't Wait" (1985) "Needles and Pins" (1985) "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You?" (1986)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released their first live album in 1985 called Pack Up the Plantation: Live! where singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks performed on "Needles and Pins" with Tom Petty at the Forum in Los Angeles, California in June 1981.

Cash Box said that "a great song is given a great treatment."^[39]

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Top Singles	85
South African Springbok Top 20 Top Singles	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	37
U.S. Billboard Album Rock Tracks	17

References

1. Doggett, Peter (January 1, 2015). "Soul Food". Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone - 125 Years of Pop Music. London: The Bodley Head. p. 284. ISBN 978-1-847-92218-2. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
2. Bono, Sonny (1991). And the Beat Goes On. New York: Pocket Books.
3. Gross, Terry; DeShannon, Jackie (June 14, 2010). "What The World Needs Now Is Jackie DeShannon [interview transcript]". Fresh Air. National Public Radio. Retrieved February 21, 2017. And I had some I did contribute to that song, but I did not get writing credit at the time, I did not pursue it.
4. Kubernik, Harvey (2009). Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon. Sterling. p. 34. ISBN 978-1402797613. Retrieved February 21, 2017. We were at the piano going over musical riffs and finally settled on the one starts off 'Needles and Pins'.
5. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990, Record Research, Inc., Menomonee Falls WI, 1991
6. "CHUM Hit Parade, week of July 8, 1963".
7. LaBate, Steve (December 18, 2009). "Jangle Bell Rock: A Chronological (Non-Holiday) Anthology ... from The Beatles and Byrds to R.E.M. and Beyond". Paste. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
8. Lanza, Joesph (November 10, 2020). "Fixing a Hole Where the Waves Crash In". Easy-Listening Acid Trip - An Elevator Ride Through '60s Psychedelic Pop. Port Townsend: Feral House. p. 39.
9. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 76. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
10. Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (2010). 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857123602.
11. Anon. (November 22, 1963). "Searchers Film Set". New Musical Express. p. 6. On December 16 and 17 the group record their next single.
12. Massey, Howard (2015). The Great British Recording Studios. Lanham, Maryland, US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-4584-2197-5.
13. Jones, Peter (January 4, 1964). "Now it's Films for the Searchers" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2025 – via WorldRadioHistory. THOSE Searchers are searching. Searching for a third hit in succession with their riot-raising version of Jackie de Shannon's "Needles and Pins," out January 7.
14. "Searchers - Tausend Nadelstiche". August 18, 2011 – via YouTube.
15. "CHUM Hit Parade - May 4, 1964".
16. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 203. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
17. "Chartverfolgung > The Searchers > Needles and Pins" (in German). Media Control Charts. Musicline.de. April 19, 1984. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
18. "The Irish Charts – All There Is To Know". Irish Recorded Music Association. Irishcharts.com. January 22, 1984. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
19. "The Searchers – Needles and Pins". VG-lista.
20. "Official Charts Company - The Searchers - Needles And Pins". Archive.is. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
21. Steffen Hung. "The Searchers - Needles And Pins". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
22. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 102.
23. "spanishcharts.com - Chris Norman - Full Circle". Retrieved October 20, 2017.
24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
25. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 279. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
26. "Smokie – Needles And Pins" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
27. "Smokie – Needles And Pins" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
28. "Smokie – Needles And Pins" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
29. "Smokie – Needles And Pins" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
30. "Smokie – Needles And Pins" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
31. "Smokie – Needles And Pins". VG-lista. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
32. "Smokie – Needles And Pins". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
33. "Smokie Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
34. "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Imgur.com.
35. Cite error: The named reference The Ramones was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
36. Rathbone, Oregano (December 2017). "Ramones – Rocket To Russia: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition". Record Collector (474). Retrieved November 21, 2018.
37. Rolling Stone Staff (June 25, 2022). "The Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 10, 2023. A bubblegum torpedo ride, this 1977 punk rock classic is about hitching your way out of the gritty city...
38. Bowe 2010, p. 57.
39. "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. February 1, 1986. p. 11. Retrieved August 3, 2022.