From '' Please Be Real / Whole Lotta Shakin' ''
Label: Alco Records – 1003
Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 1964
Tracklist
A Please Be Real
Written-By – Sonny Flaharty
B Whole Lotta Shakin'
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"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 co-credited to African American singer/songwriter Dave "Curlee" Williams, and white pianist, bandleader and songwriter James Faye "Roy" Hall (May 7, 1922 - March 2, 1984).
On March 21, 1955, Big Maybelle made the first recording for Okeh Records; it's produced by the young Quincy Jones.
Roy Hall made a recording of 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 "Sonny David".
However, a Decca sample copy of Hall's recording lists Dave Williams as the sole writer.
On the Pop Chronicles documentary, Jerry Lee Lewis credited Big Mama Thornton.
Other early recordings include Dolores Frederick and The Commodores (no relation to the '70s Motown group).
However, none of these early recordings found much commercial success. All subsequent recordings of the song list the composers as Sonny David and Dave Williams.
Hall was also a Nashville club owner, who later claimed to have employed young piano player Jerry Lee Lewis at some point around 1954.
Jerry Lee Lewis version
Jerry Lee Lewis had been performing the song in his stage act, and recorded it at his second recording session for Sun Records, at an unknown date in February 1957.
The release is reviewed in Billboard magazine on May 27, 1957.[3] Supervised by producer Jack Clement, Lewis radically altered the original, adding a propulsive boogie piano that was complemented by J.M. Van Eaton's energetic drumming, and also added suggestive spoken asides. Lewis later stated : "I knew it was a hit when I cut it.
Sam Phillips thought it was gonna be too risqué, it couldn't make it. If that's risqué, well, I'm sorry."
In Lewis' biographical film, Lewis is shown spying in on Black American speak-easy type club, listening to Whole Lotta Shakin Goin' On by a Black female soloist. (The part is played by singer Valerie Wellington, her version is also on the film's soundtrack.)
The next scene depicts Lewis using the song without crediting the original artist.
Released as Sun 267, the record reached number three on the Billboard pop charts, and number one on the R&B charts.
The single also hit number one on the country charts, and number eight in the UK. Lewis became an instant sensation and, as writer Robert Gordon noted: "Jerry Lee began to show that in this new emerging genre called rock 'n' roll, not everybody was going to stand there with a guitar."
Jerry Lee Lewis's version of the song is ranked as the 61st greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2005, it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Other versions
The song has become a rock n' roll standard, recorded by many performers including
Little Richard,
Daddy Cool,
Carl Perkins,
Rick Nelson,
Chubby Checker,
Duffy Power,
Conway Twitty,
Gerry & The Pacemakers,
Lee Hazlewood,
Wanda Jackson,
John Lennon,
Paul McCartney (during some of his soundchecks)
Cliff Richard,
Johnny Rivers,
The Hurricanes,
Mae West,
Mott the Hoople,
Big Star,
Uriah Heep,
Johnny Winter,
Bill Haley & His Comets,
Georgia Satellites,
Ten Years After (I'm Going Home medley),
Savoy Brown (Savoy Brown Boogie medley),
and experimental band The Flying Lizards on their 1984 cover album Top Ten.
Prince (musician) sometimes performs a very boppy jazz rendition of the song at his after parties.
Levi Kreis, portraying Jerry Lee Lewis, sang "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" in the Broadway musical "Million Dollar Quartet," which opened in New York in April, 2010; and Kreis covered the song on the "Million Dollar Quartet" original Broadway cast recording (copyright 2010 by MDQ Merchandising, LLC).
Levi Kreis won a 2010 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Jerry Lee Lewis in "Million Dollar Quartet."
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