Twistin' The Night Away In 'Innerspace'

1987 saw the release of one of my all time favourite sci-fi comedy films. The Stephen Spielberg produced, Joe Dante directed hit ‘Innerspace’. It was a rollicking comic adventure (based on the 1966 film ’Fantastic Voyage’) starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and Martin Short (as the hapless Jack Putter). The film featured an original score by Jerry Goldsmith and a great music soundtrack throughout, with a mix of old tracks by Sam Cooke (‘Cupid’), new tracks by Wang Chung (see future post) and Berlin (see previous post) and a new version of an old track by Sam Cooke/Rod Stewart.

Rod Stewart contributed a newly recorded version of the classic rock number ‘Twistin’ The Night Away’. The song had originally been recorded by the legendary Sam Cooke and was a huge hit for him back in 1962, reaching #9 in the U.S. and #6 in Britain.

Rockin’ Rod Stewart recorded his first version of the track in 1972 for the album ‘Sing It Again Rod’. The song was released in some markets as a B-side on the single ‘You Wear It Well’, but did chart as a single in its own right during 1973, peaking at #59 in the U.S. and #98 in Australia.
The music of Sam Cooke was a strong theme in the film with his version of ‘Cupid’ being a love theme of sorts for the Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan characters. It was logical, given the film’s link to Sam Cooke’s music, and Rod Stewart’s link to the Sam Cooke original ‘Twistin’ The Night Away’, that he’d record the track afresh for the film. Rod Stewart’s version of ‘Twistin’ The Night Away’ (circa 1987) was a much sharper, up tempo one than his earlier 1973 take. The new version was released as a single and climbed to #80 in the U.S., but really took off in Australia where it peaked at #27 in early 1988.