Give Him a Great Big Kiss

"Give Him a Great Big Kiss"
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by the Shangri-Las
from the album Leader of the Pack
B-side"Twist and Shout"
ReleasedDecember 1964 (1964-12)
GenrePop[1]
Length2:12
LabelRed Bird
Songwriter(s)Shadow Morton
Producer(s)Shadow Morton
The Shangri-Las singles chronology
"Leader of the Pack"
(1964) 		"Give Him a Great Big Kiss"
(1964) 		"Maybe"
(1964)

"Give Him a Great Big Kiss" (sometimes entitled "Great Big Kiss") is a song written by Shadow Morton and performed by the Shangri-Las. It debuted at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late December 1964,[2] and peaked at #18 for two weeks in late January/early February 1965.[3][4] It was featured on their 1965 album Leader of the Pack.[5] The single was produced by Shadow Morton.[6]

The song was ranked number 200 among the greatest singles ever made in Dave Marsh's book The Heart of Rock & Soul (1989).[7] Marsh describes the song as "one of the greatest pieces of teen dialogue ever recorded, not to mention posessed of a great beat." He highlights the bit "when the music virtually ceases except for the drumbeats" and the ensuing girls' dialogue ("I hear he's bad." "He's good bad, but he's not evil"). Pitchfork magazine named the song number 96 on their 2006 list of the best songs of the 1960s.[8] In 2017, Billboard magazine's editorial staff ranked it number 51 on their list of the 100 greatest girl group songs of all time.[9] In 2023, they listed the song number 481 on their 500 best pop songs of all time list.[1]

  1. ^ a b Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024. The most frenzied pop single ever released by the traditionally doomy-and-gloomy girl group...
  2. ^ "Hot 100" (PDF), Billboard Magazine, p. 26, December 26, 1964, retrieved December 8, 2021
  3. ^ "Hot 100" (PDF), Billboard, p. 34, January 30, 1965, retrieved December 8, 2021
  4. ^ "Hot 100" (PDF), Billboard, p. 32, February 6, 1965, retrieved December 8, 2021
  5. ^ "The Shangri-Las, Leader of the Pack". Discogs. 1965. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Shangri-Las, "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" Single Release". Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  7. ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New York: New American Library. pp. 139–140. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
  8. ^ "The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s". Pitchfork. August 17, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  9. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. July 10, 2017.