"Wrap It Up" is a soul song originally recorded by the American duo Sam & Dave and written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was released in January 1968 as the B-side to "I Thank You".

It was also recorded by other artists, such as Archie Bell & the Drells in 1970, Romeo Void in 1982 and Eurythmics in 1983. It was a minor hit in a version by the Fabulous Thunderbirds in 1986.

Sam & Dave version

Background "Wrap it Up" was written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was the B side of I Thank You. Hayes and Portner also produced the single which was released on Stax 45-242 in January 1968.45Cat - Sam And Dave - I Thank You As far as radio was concerned in March 1968, Sam & Dave had a two-sided hit with their single.Record World, March 2, 1968 - Page 42 R&B Beat (Continued from page 40), Sam & Dave is a Two -Sided Hit

Reception Both "I Thank You" and "Wrap It Up" were reviewed by Derek Johnson in the 17 February issue of English publication New Musical Express. In spite of his praise of the A side, he did write that it was a pity that it was so tuneless. With the flip side ("Wrap it Up") he wrote that it had a "compulsive jerk beat, a raving duet and an urgent brassy backing" that "almost set the turntable alight".New Musical Express, No. 1101. Week ending February 17th, 1968 - Page 10 MORE SINGLES REVIEWED BY DEREK JOHNSON, SAM AND DAVE † “ I Thank You "/" Wrap It Up ” (Stax).

According to Kal Rudman in his Money Music column,Record World, March 2, 1968 - Page 20 MONEY MUSIC By Kal Rudman WCLS in Columbus, Georgia and many other pop and R&B stations had pointed out the B side of Sam & Dave's hit was a powerhouse and his advice was to check it out.Record World, March 2, 1968 - Page 50 Money Music (Continued from page 40), Flip Tip on Sam & Dave-Wrap It Up Airplay According to the R&B Beat section in the 2 March issue of Record World, "Wrap It Up had broken wide open. Radio WVON in Chicago had made it the "Top and Bottom of the Week".Record World, March 2, 1968 - Page 42 R&B Beat (Continued from page 40), Sam & Dave is a Two -Sided Hit

It was reported in the 20 April 1968 issue of Record World that "Wrap It was at No. 22 at WWRL in New York City.Record World, April 20, 1968 - Page 40 R & B BEAT (Continued from page 30), WWRL, NYC, 4#22—"Wrap It Up," Sam & Dave; It was also breaking out there.Record World, April 20, 1968 - Page 40 R & B BEAT (Continued from page 30), WWRL, NYC, Note:

Archie Bell and the Drells version

Background "Wrap it Up" was composed by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Working with producers Dave Crawford and Brad Shapiro and arranger Wade Marcus, Archie Bell and the Drells recorded the song. Backed with an Archie Bell composition, "Deal with Him", it was released on Atlantic 45-2768 in October 1970.45Cat - Archie Bell And The Drells - Wrap It Up

It was reported in R&B Beat section of the 24 October issue of Record World that the Atlantic label rushing out a fantastic new Archie Bell called "Wrap It Up".Record World, October 24, 1970 - Page 34 R&B Beat (Continued from page 32)

It was reported in the 31 October issue of Record World that in the previous week, Atlantic Records had mistakenly sent out acetates of "Wrap it Up" without any labels. Before they could rectify the situation, they were hit with enthusiastic responses from deejays and program directors from across the country. They were now shipping the records that week.Record World, October 31, 1970 - Page 8 Drells Early Hit On Atlantic Reception "Warp it Up" was reviewed in the 31 October 1970 issue of Cash Box. where it was one of the Picks of the Week. The reviewer wrote that it should reap fiery results with teen listeners on the blues and rock sides and finished off with calling it a powerful dancer.Cash Box, October 31, 1970 - Page 24 cashbox /singles reviews, Picks of the Week, ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS (Atlantic 2768), Wrap it Up

The single was a Four-Star Pick in the 31 October issue of Record World with the reviewer writing that Archie Bell and the Drells had revived a great Sam & Dave tune that sounded good. The sales potential was also noted.Record World, October 31, 1970 - Page 6 record world SINGLE REVIEWS FOUR STAR ★★★★ PICKS, ARCHIE BELL AND THE DRELLTS-ATLANTIC 2768 WRAP IT UP

Charts Billboard The record peaked at No. 93 on the Billboard singles chart and No. 33 on the Soul Singles chart.MusicVF.com - Wrap It Up : Archie Bell & the Drells Record World "Wrap it Up" debuted at No. 120 in the Record World 101 - 150 Singles chart for the week of 21 November.Record World, November 21, 1970 - Page 48 THE 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART, 120, - WRAP IT UP ARCHIE BELL & DRELLS-Atlantic 2768 (East/Memphis/Pronto, BMI) It peaked at No. 105 in that chart for the week of 12 December.Record World, December 12, 1970 - Page 36 THE 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART, WEEK OF DECEMBER 12, 1970, THIS WK. 105, LAST WK. 108, WRAP IT UP ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS-Atlantic 2768Record World, December 19, 1970 - Page 36 THE 101 - 150 SINGLES CHART, WEEK OF DECEMBER 19, 1970 It also debuted at No. 47 in the Record World R&B Singles chart that week.Record World, December 12, 1970 - Page 39 THE R&B SINGLES CHART WEEK OF DECEMBER 12, 1970, THIS WK. 47, LAST WEEK W -, WRAP IT UP ARCHIE BELL & DRELLS-Atlantic 2768 The single debuted at No. 96 in the Record World Singles Chart for the week of 19 December.Record World, December 12, 1970 - Page 31 THE SINGLES CHART, WEEK OF DECEMBER 12, 1970Record World, December 12, 1970 - Page 30 ALPHABETICAL LISTING SINGLES CHART PRODUCER, PUBLISHER, LICENSEERecord World, December 19, 1970 - Page 30 ALPHABETICAL LISTING SINGLES CHART PRODUCER, PUBLISHER, LICENSEE, WRAP IT UP Dave Crawford & Brad Shapiro (East/Memphis/Pronto, BMI) ...... ...... 96 By 2 January 1971, the single was at No. 29 in the R&B Singles chartRecord World, January 2, 1971 - Page 33 THE R&B SINGLES CHART JANUARY 2, 1971, THIS WK. 29, LAST WK. 31, WRAP IT UP ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS-Atlantic 2768 and at No. 87 in the Singles chart.Record World, January 2, 1971 - Page 24 ALPHABETICAL LISTING SINGLES CHART PRODUCER, PUBLISHER, LICENSEE, WRAP IT UP Dave Crawford & Brad Shapiro (East/Memphis/Pronto, BMI) .............. 87

The Fabulous Thunderbirds version

Background The Fabulous Thunderbirds recorded "Wrap It Up" which was backed with "True Love", and released on single, CBS Associated ZS4 06270 in July 1986. Both sides were produced by Dave Edmunds.45Cat - The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Wrap It Up Charts The single made it to No. 50 on the Billboard Singles chart and No. 8 on the Rock chart.MusicVF.com - Wrap It Up: The Fabulous Thunderbirds

Other versions "Wrap it Up" was recorded by Buddy Miles and included on his 1968 album, Expressway to Your Skull.Downbeat, June 26, 1969 - Page 23 Record Reviews, Pages 23-24 Buddy Miles Express EXPRESSWAY TO YOUR SKULL—Mercury 61196 Miles performed at the Fillmore venue on Saturday 22 February 1969. He closed his set with "Wrap It Up" which was described by Record World as doing it as only Buddy Miles could do it.Record World, March 8, 1969 - Page 26 Concert Review, Inventive Performance A 19:03 version of the song also appears on Miles' Buddy Miles Live album that was released in 1971.Billboard, November 13, 1971 - Page 52 Jukebox programming, Mercury Edits Cuts on 7 -in. DJ LP; Long Singles Problem Very Complex

Romeo Void recorded the song which was included on their Benefactor album that was released in 1982.Progrography, 11 Aug 2020 - (Review) Romeo Void: Benefactor (1982)High Fidelity, Volume 32, Issues 7-12 - 1982 - Page 90 The 18 September issue of Billboard showed that it had been added to the playlist of KYYX-FM in Seattle.Billboard, September 18, 1982 - Page 22 Billboard Singles Radio Action Based on station playlists through Tuesday (9/7/82) KYYX -FM-Seattle (Elvin Ichiyama-MD) • ROMEO VOID-Wrap It Up A

The Eurythmics recorded a version of the song which is included on their Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) album.Ultimate Eurythmics Archives - Lyrics for Wrap It Up by Eurythmics from the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

References