"A Little Bit of Soap", written by Bert Berns

Bert Berns

Bertrand Russell Berns , most commonly known as Bert Berns as well as Bert Russell and Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s...

 (aka Bert Russell), was a song, first sung in a bluesy soul style by The Jarmels

The Jarmels

The Jarmels are a doo wop/rhythm and blues group officially formed in 1959 in Richmond, Virginia. They were composed of Nathaniel Ruff , Paul Burnett , Ray Smith , Earl Christian , and Tom Eldridge .They met while attending Armstrong High School and while some sang at nearby Mount Olivet Baptist...

, who reached #12 with it in September 1961.

The song has been covered many times since. Paul Davis

Paul Davis (singer)

Paul Lavon Davis was an American singer and songwriter, best known for his radio hits and solo career which started worldwide in 1970. His career encompassed soul, country and pop music...

's rendition reached #52 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 in the summer of 1970, while Nigel Olsson

Nigel Olsson

Nigel Olsson is an English rock drummer, who is best known for his work with Elton John. Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as one of the first members of John's band, on drums, percussion and backing vocals. When not working with Elton, Olsson has taken up the role of a session musician...

's version hit #34 in June 1979. Both Davis and Olsson used ballad arrangements.
The song was a great success in Britain in the 1978 version by Showaddywaddy

Showaddywaddy

Showaddywaddy are a 1970s pop group from Leicester, England. They specialised in revivals of hit songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, and dressed as Teddy Boys.-History:...

, peaking at #5 in UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 in July 1978.

While the song was a minor hit in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 all three times it was released, it reached the Top Ten on the Canadian charts, and Top Twenty in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in 1970 for Davis. It was his first charting single release.

"A Little Bit of Soap" was a huge hit in southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 when the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

-based group Cliff Foenander

Cliff Foenander

Cliff Foenander was a Sri Lankan musician who performed in South East Asia and Las Vegas. Cliff died 21 November 2000.-Career:Cliff grew up in Colombo, and in the 1950s he started performing in clubs and dances around Ceylon....

 and The Fabulous Echoes released it as a single. It spent 25 weeks at number 1 in top ten charts in 1963 in southeast Asia. Foenander and The Fabulous Echoes also sang the hit in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...

 USA in 1964. It made Cliff Foenander a household name in South Asia: Radio Ceylon

Radio Ceylon

Radio Ceylon is the oldest radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department in 1923, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe.- Edward Harper :...

, the oldest radio station in South Asia

South Asia

South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...

, played the number one hit across the Indian subcontinent.

Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston

Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....

 also covered it, while De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

sampled it for a different song with the same name.