Shake That Thing
| "Shake That Thing" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Papa Charlie Jackson | |
| A-side | "The Faking Blues" |
| Released | July 11, 1925 |
| Recorded | May 1925 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Label | Paramount |
| Songwriter(s) | Papa Charlie Jackson |
"Shake That Thing" is a song recorded by
Song
The song is written in a
The lyrics tells the story of Jackson visiting
Now down in Georgia they got a dance that's new
There ain't nothing to it, it's easy to do
They call it shake that thing,
Aww, shake that thing
I'm getting sick 'n' tired of telling you to shake that thing
On its own the lyrics is pretty tame, but it was made salacious by Jackson's "leering delivery".[7]
Release
Jackson was recording with Paramount since 1924.[9]
In 1926 the publishing rights were sold to Shapiro and Bernstein with a piano version printed in the same year.[2]
Recognition
The song is the most influential piece by Jackson, Viola Bartlette and Jimmie O’Bryant's Famous Original Washboard Band, Abe Lyman and his Californians, even Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five joined with a music arrangement by Spencer Williams under the name "Georgia Grind" that included a bit of additional lyrics. The Paramount record by Jackson was referred to as an "original" early in 1926, a rarity for the times.[2]
Later developments
The music was reworked in 1928 by Georgia Tom (
The lyrics triggered a brief copyright controversy: in 1926
Discography
| Title | Artist | Label/catalog # | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Shake That Thing" | Papa Charlie Jackson | Paramount 12281 | 1925 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Clarence Williams's Blue Five | OKeh 8267 | 1925 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Ethel Waters | Columbia 14116D | 1925 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Billy Wirges and his Orchestra | Perfect 14533, Pathé 36352 | 1925 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Viola McCoy | Vocalion 15245 | 1926 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Viola Bartlette | Paramount 12345 | 1926 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Jimmy O'Bryant's Famous Washboard Band | Paramount 12346A | 1926 |
| "Shake That Thing" | Abe Lyman and his Californians | Brunswick 3069 | 1926 |
| "Georgia Grind" | Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five | OKeh 8318 | 1926 |
References
- ^ Komara 2015.
- ^ a b c d Schwartz 2018, p. 370.
- ^ Johnson 1927, p. 16.
- ^ a b c Calt 2010, p. 212.
- ^ Birnbaum 2012, p. 105.
- ^ Wald 2010, p. 5.
- ^ a b Birnbaum 2013, p. 77.
- ^ a b Hansen 2000, p. 46.
- ^ a b c Dodge 2019, p. 115.
- ^ a b Obrecht 2015, p. 41.
- ^ Dixon, Godrich & Rye 1997, p. 423.
- ^ Wald 2010, p. 27.
- JSTOR 26434554.
- ^ Schwartz 2018, pp. 383–388.
Sources
- Schwartz, Roberta Freund (2018-10-01). "How Blue Can You Get? "It's Tight Like That" and the Hokum Blues". American Music. 36 (3). University of Illinois Press: 367–393. ISSN 0734-4392.
- Johnson, G. B. (1927). "Double meaning in the popular negro blues". The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 22 (1). American Psychological Association (APA): 12–20. ISSN 0096-851X.
- Komara, Edward (Spring 2015). ""Papa" Charlie Jackson, and Cary Moskovitz et al. Papa Charlie Done Sung That Song: Celebrating The Music Of "Papa" Charlie Jackson". ARSC Journal. 46 (1). Annapolis: 172–175, 189.
- Birnbaum, L. (2012). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8629-2. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Birnbaum, L. (2013). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8638-4. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Wald, E. (2010). The Blues: A Very Short Introduction. Very Short Introductions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-975079-5. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Trotman, C.J., ed. (2014). "Langston Hughes's Nigger Heaven Blues". Langston Hughes: The Man, His Art, and His Continuing Influence. Critical Studies in Black Life and Culture. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-94617-5. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Calt, S. (2010). "shake that thing". Barrelhouse Words: A Blues Dialect Dictionary. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-09071-4. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Dodge, T. (2019). Rhythm and Blues Goes Calypso. Lexington Books. ISBN 978-1-4985-3099-6. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Obrecht, J. (2015). Early Blues: The First Stars of Blues Guitar. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1-4529-4565-1. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
- Hansen, B. (2000). Rhino's Cruise Through the Blues. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 978-0-87930-625-0. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
- Dixon, R.M.W.; Godrich, J.; Rye, H. (1997). Blues & Gospel Records, 1890-1943. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-816239-1. Retrieved 2023-07-10.