Needles and Pins (song)

"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, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Stevie Nicks.

"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
Songwriter(s)	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer(s)	Dick Glasser

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[7]
Studio	Pye (London, UK)[8]
Genre	Jangle pop[9][10] folk rock[10]
Length	2:14
Label	Pye (UK)[11] Kapp (US)
Songwriter(s)	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer(s)	Tony Hatch[11]
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.^[12] The Pye Records single was released in January 1964.^[11] It was number one in the United Kingdom,^[11] 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".^[13]

Charts

Chart (1964)	Peak position
Canada[14]	14
Finnish Singles Charts[15]	31
French Singles Chart	29
German Singles Chart[16]	8
Irish Singles Chart[17]	1
Norway (VG-lista)[18]	5
Swedish Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart[19]	1
US Billboard Hot 100	13
Norwegian Singles Chart[20]	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[21]
Length	2:41
Label	RAK
Songwriter(s)	Jack Nitzsche Sonny Bono
Producer(s)	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).^[22]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–78)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)[23]	10
Australia (Kent Music Report)[24]	7
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26]	5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27]	17
Germany (GfK)[28]	2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[29]	5
Norway (VG-lista)[30]	4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31]	7
US Billboard Hot 100[32]	68

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Needles and Pins"

Chart (1978)	Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[33]	48

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
Songwriter(s)	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."^[34]

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