Needles and Pins

"Needles and Pins" is a song, not an album. Written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono, it first appeared on April 11, 1963, when Jackie DeShannon released it as a single on Liberty Records. Her version, produced by Dick Glasser, blended rock, folk, and soul into a 2:30 track that set the template for all later covers. The B-side was "Did He Call Today, Mama?"

The most famous recording came from The Searchers, a British beat group. They cut their version on December 16-17, 1963, at Pye Studios in London, with Tony Hatch producing. Released as a single on January 7, 1964, it reached number one on the UK singles chart. This jangle-pop interpretation, lasting 2:14, later appeared on their album It's the Searchers. On Spotify, the track has accumulated over 43.8 million streams.

Other notable covers include a 1985 live recording by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers featuring Stevie Nicks, captured at The Forum in Los Angeles in June 1981 and released on Pack up the Plantation: Live!. The Ramones also recorded it, staying close to DeShannon's original attitude. A separate Canadian punk band called Needles//Pins, formed in 2009, took their name from the song and have released several albums, including a self-titled 2021 LP on Dirt Cult Records. [edit]