Shakin' All Over
| "Shakin' All Over" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" (Donaldson/Khan) |
Shakin' All Over is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960. Musicians were: Johnny Kidd (vocals), Alan Caddy (guitar), Brian Gregg (bass), Clem Cattini (drums), Joe Moretti (lead).
It was a hit in England for The Swingin' Blue Jeans in 1964, gained fame in North America after The Guess Who covered it in 1965, and became a national #1 hit in Australia in late 1965 for Normie Rowe, whose version (backed by "Que Sera Sera") was one of the biggest-selling Australian singles of the decade.
Johnny Kidd is quoted as saying:
"When I was going round with a bunch of lads and we happened to see a girl who was a real sizzler we used to say that she gave us ‘quivers down the membranes’. It was a standard saying with us referring to any attractive girl…..I can honestly say that it was this more than anything that inspired me to write ‘Shakin’ All Over’."
The song has been performed many times by The Who, perhaps most famously on Live at Leeds in 1970.
The song has had numerous references in pop culture including being covered by Iggy Pop. The Guess Who version has also been included in the Battlefield Vietnam soundtrack. It is also the name of a CBC Television documentary on Canadian rock music in the 1950s and 1960s. Brian Wilson also gave it due honor with a sample of the vibrato guitar break in the Beach Boys 1986 hit "Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue."
The song was also covered by Rose Hill Drive for the soundtrack of Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse.
The Guess Who version of the song is also featured in a Hugo Boss XY and XX Fragrance Commercial, featuring Johnathan Rhys Meyers and Bette Franke.
Also recorded by The British Invasion All-Stars with original Pirates guitarist Mick Green on lead guitar. Appears on The Yardbirds Family Tree album. Mooreland St Records, 2006 [1]
Another cover version of this song can be found on Suzi Quatro's first album.