Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Big Maybelle | ||||
B-side | "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" | |||
Released | 1955 | |||
Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
Length | 3:00 | |||
Label | Okeh | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dave "Curlee" Williams | |||
Big Maybelle singles chronology | ||||
|
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (sometimes rendered "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On") is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best-known version is the 1957 rock and roll/rockabilly version by Jerry Lee Lewis.
Origins of the song
The origins of the song are disputed, but the writing is usually co-credited to singer/songwriter Dave "Curlee" Williams, and pianist and club owner James Faye "Roy" Hall. Hall stated:
We was down in
Pahokee, on Lake Okeechobee ... out on a damn pond, fishin' and milkin' snakes ... This guy down there had a big bell that he's ring to get us all to come in to dinner, an' I'd call over [and] say, 'What's goin' on?' Colored guy said, 'We got twen'y-one drums, we got an old bass horn, an' they even keepin' time on a ding-dong.' See, that was the big bell they'd ring to git us t'come in.[1]
On 21 March 1955, Big Maybelle made the first recording for Okeh Records. The songwriting was credited to D. C. Williams, and the session was conducted and arranged by Quincy Jones.[2] Roy Hall recorded the song in September 1955 for Decca Records and maintained that he had written it and had secured the legal copyright as co-writer under the pseudonym of "Sunny David".[3] On the Pop Chronicles documentary, Jerry Lee Lewis incorrectly credited Big Mama Thornton.[4]
Jerry Lee Lewis version
"Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Jerry Lee Lewis | ||||
B-side | "It'll Be Me" | |||
Released | 15 April 1957 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:52 | |||
Label | Sun | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Jack Clement | |||
Jerry Lee Lewis singles chronology | ||||
|
Lewis had been performing the song in his stage act and recorded it at his second recording session for
Sun released the song on a single, which reached No. 3 on the
American music critic
Levi Kreis version
Levi Kreis, portraying Lewis, sang the song in the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, which opened in New York in April 2010.[15] Kreis's version is included on the Million Dollar Quartet original Broadway cast recording.[16]
Chubby Checker version
Chubby Checker released a version on his 1960 album For Twisters Only. His version was released as the B-side to his single "The Hucklebuck" and reached No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17]
References
- ISBN 0-436-53203-4.
- ^ Heller, Jason. "Quincy Jones: 20 Great Productions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ A Decca sample copy of Hall's recording lists Dave Williams as the sole writer. "Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third Series" lists the owners of the copyright as Dave Williams (David Williams) and Sunny David (pseud. of Miriam S. Davidson).[1]
- ^ "Show 8 - The All American Boy: Enter Elvis and the rock-a-billies. [Part 2] : UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ Guralnick, Peter, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'N' Roll, Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2015 p. 337
- ^ "JACK "COWBOY" CLEMENT INTERVIEW (circa 1977)". Cowboyjackclement.com. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Jerry Lee Lewis: 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ^ Lee, Jerry. "Jerry Lee Lewis: 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'". NPR. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 347.
- ^ "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Jerry Lee Lewis: 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'". NPR. 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ISBN 0879307447.
- ISBN 978-0809016419.
- ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ^ Zielinski, Peter James. "Photo Coverage: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET Opens on Broadway". Broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ MDQ Merchandising LLC (2010). "Song List" and "Performing Credits". In Million Dollar Quartet (p. 5) [CD booklet]. New York City: Avatar Studios; and Chicago: Chicago Recording Company.
- ^ Chubby Checker, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On Chart Position. Retrieved April 30, 2023.