Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On
| Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On | |
|---|---|
| Big Maybelle | |
| publication | April 1955 |
| length | 2:30 |
| Genre (s) |
Rhythm and blues rock 'n' roll |
| text | Dave Williams |
| music | Sonny David |
| Publisher (s) | Marlyn Music |
| Cover versions | |
| 1957 | Jerry Lee Lewis |
| 1960 | Chubby checker |
Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On is the title of a rock 'n' roll song made famous by Jerry Lee Lewis , which became a big hit for the singer and the record label Sun Records in 1957 . The Rhythm and Blues Original by Big Maybelle was in 1955 on Okeh Records published.
History of origin
Many backgrounds about the origin of the song are controversial. What is certain is that the authors Dave “Curlee” Williams (text) and the pianist Roy Hall (music; for tax reasons under the pseudonym “Sonny David”) are registered with the American collecting society ASCAP .
The idea for the song is said to have originated during a fishing trip on Lake Okeechobee in Florida. Williams and Hall were drunk when they heard bells ringing from a sea island and Hall exclaimed in amazement, “What's going on?” And someone replied, “We have 21 drums, an old bass trumpet and someone is playing a ding-dong ”, which was used for the first line of the original composition.
Roy Hall was the pianist in the band of country star Webb Pierce and recorded his composition on September 15, 1955 at the Bradley Film & Recording Studio in Nashville . The song was released in early October 1955 with the B-side All By Myself as Decca # 29697. Although Hall was a good pianist, no piano was used on his recording. For some of the specialist literature, it is therefore obvious that the co-composer is also the interpreter of the original version. Roy Hall owned the “Musician's Hideaway” pub in Nashville, where the still unknown Jerry Lee Lewis appeared in 1954, who later made a career for himself as a rock and roll musician with Sun Records. His virtuoso piano playing impressed Hall, and he got Lewis a part-time job in his pub in 1954.
Strictly speaking, however, the original version comes from the rhythm and blues singer Big Maybelle , who recorded the song on March 21, 1955 under the young producer Quincy Jones and the third from last single on OKeh Records with B-side One Monkey Don't Stop No Show was released in April 1955. When they were recorded (OKeh # 7060), only Williams is noted as the composer, the following cover versions also mention Hall (as Sonny David).
Before the version by Jerry Lee Lewis, there are two other versions, namely in November 1955 by Dolores Fredericks (Decca # 29716) and in January 1956 by the Commodores (not to be confused with the band by Lionel Richie ; Dot # 45-15439).
Version by Jerry Lee Lewis
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It is unclear how Lewis learned of the song. While many suspect he came into contact with the piece through his work in Hall's pub, Lewis remembers himself hearing about it from radio DJ and band leader Johnny Littlejohn (WNAT / Natchez, Mississippi) when he did Played in Littlejohn's band in 1954.
The recording date in the Sun Record Studios was March 15, 1957. It was only Lewis' second recording session. Under the supervision of producer Jack Clement , Lewis left out the original beginning of the text with "21 Drums". In addition, he has radically changed the original musically with his driving piano style. In concrete terms, his piano style is a fast-paced mix of increasing honky tonk and blues shuffle elements, which is emphasized by Jimmy Van Eaton's energetic drums.
After the release on May 27, 1957 with the B-side It'll Be Me (composed by Clement) as Sun # 267, the song was first noticed on June 17, 1957 by the country charts. On June 24th it rose to number 70 on the pop charts. Only Lewis' television debut on the Steve Allen Show on July 28, 1957 brought the breakthrough; the piece reached number two in the pop hit parade. On September 9, the song reached first place in the country charts for two weeks, which was also mirrored in the rhythm & blues charts.
The public discussion about the lascivious text content for the southern origin from the Bible Belt did not damage the success, because by the end of 1957 the title had developed into a million seller with three million copies, a total of six million records were sold . It was Jerry Lee Lewis' first million seller.
More cover versions and statistics
The sales success made the piece a standard of rock & roll. Soon after the great success, other interpreters also tried it. In particular, Ricky Nelson (October 1957), Carl Perkins (November 3, 1958) or Chubby Checker (October 1960) should be mentioned. The ASCAP registered a total of 25 cover versions of the only composition registered for David Williams. In the list of the 500 best songs of all time by the music magazine Rolling Stone , the piece ranks 61st.
swell
- ↑ "We got 21 drums, we got an ol 'bass horn and somebody's beatin' on a ding-dong"
- ↑ a b Nick Toshes, The Jerry Lee Lewis Story - Hellfire f, 1998, p 94th
- ↑ Craig Morrison: Go Cat Go! Rockabilly Music And Its Makers. 1998, p. 120.
- ↑ A member of these Commodores was Darrell Glenn, the original interpreter of Crying in the Chapel
- ↑ Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On in the UK Singles Chart
- ↑ Top Pop Singles 1955-2006 by Joel Whitburn , Record Research 2007, ISBN 978-0-89820-172-7 .
- ↑ Peter Guralnick: Feel Like Going Home - Portraits In Blues And Rock And Roll. 1981, p. 181.
- ↑ Dave Marsh: The Heart of Rock And Soul , 1989, p. 17.
- ↑ musicological analysis of the version by Jerry Lee Lewis see: Ansgar Jerrentrup: Development of rock music from the beginning to the beat. Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg 1981 ( Cologne Contributions to Music Research , Volume 113), also Diss. Phil. University of Cologne 1980, p. 193 f .; Score transcription of the version p. 225.
- ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records. 1985, p. 108.
- ↑ Jerry Lee Lewis in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame
- ^ Interpretation of the version by Jerry Lee Lewis cf. Werner Faulstich: Jerry Lee Lewis: 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin 'On' - Rock 'n' Roll and sex as a protest . In: ders .: From rock 'n' roll to Bob Dylan. Tübingen lectures on rock history . Part 1: 1955-1963 . Rockpaed Verlag, Gelsenkirchen 1983, pp. 61-63.
- ↑ Whole Lotta Shakin 'Goin' On , ASCAP entry