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"Shakin' All Over" is a rhythm and blues 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. The musicians who performed on the recording were Johnny Kidd (vocals), Alan Caddy (guitar), Brian Gregg (bass), Clem Cattini (drums) and Joe Moretti (lead guitar).


History[edit source | editbeta][]

Kidd was 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 original recording was not a hit outside of Europe. Instead, "Shakin' All Over" gained fame in North America after the Canadian band The Guess Who covered it in early 1965, where it became a #1 hit in Canada, and a #22 hit in the US. The Guess Who had previously been known as "Chad Allan and the Expressions" prior to the release of "Shakin' All Over", but the group's Canadian label (Quality Records) issued the record as by "Guess Who?", in an attempt to imply that the record might be by a British Invasion act. The group subsequently permanently changed its name to The Guess Who, and went on to a long Top 40 career.

The Guess Who's version also became a #27 hit in Australia, but another "Shakin' All Over" cover became a national #1 hit in late 1965 for Normie Rowe. Rowe's version of the track (backed by "Que Sera Sera") was one of the biggest-selling Australian singles of the decade.

Other versions[edit source | editbeta][]

  • In 1963, Swinging Blue Jeans covered it at Abbey Road session but the issue was made in late `90s.
  • In 1965, The Guess Who/Chad Allan and the Expressions covered the song on a single, later the same year released on their debut album Shakin' All Over, which reached #1 in Canada, #22 in the U.S.
  • In 1965, Donna Loren performed the song on the television series Shindig.[1] She later recorded the song for her 2010 album Love It Away.
  • In 1967, The song was covered by Josephine Siao and Lui Kie in The Lady Killer. This Cantonese rendition was one of the best hits in the 1960s in Hong Kong.
  • In 1969, Performed by Humble Pie on Live at the Whiskey A-Go-Go.
  • In 1971, The Flamin' Groovies covered the song on the reissue of Teenage Head.
  • In 1976, Rabbit included the song on their album "Too Much Rock 'n' Roll".
  • In 1978, The Pirates (Johnny Kidd's backing band) included the live version on their album "Out Of Their Skulls", and in 1978 released studio version of the song as an A-side of single
  • In 1986, the Beach Boys sampled the vibrato guitar break in their hit "Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue".
  • In 1986, Chris Spedding included this song on his album Enemy Within.
  • In 1989, Cows recorded a noise rock version of the song on their "Daddy Has a Tail" album with improvised lyrics since the lead singer did not know the actual lyrics to the song.
  • In 1989, Steve Marriott and Steve Parsons covered it for the Canadian Horror Film, Gnaw: Food of the Gods Part 2.
  • In 1993, Van Morrison recorded a live medley version of the song with "Gloria" on his double live album A Night in San Francisco, released in 1994.
  • In 1999, The Blue Hawaiians covered the song on their Savage Night album.
  • In 2011, Wanda Jackson covered the song on her The Party Ain't Over album.
  • In 2011, The Head Cat covered the song on their Walk the Walk...Talk the Talk album.
  • 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.[2]
  • AC/DC stated that the main riff of "Back in Black" was influenced by Kidd's version of the song.[3] AC/DC's original lead singer Dave Evans had recorded the song with his band Rabbit in 1976.
  • Performed many times by The Who, (sometimes in a medley with "Spoonful"), perhaps most famously at Woodstock in 1969 and on Live at Leeds in 1970. In Randy Bachman's autobiography, when he met Who bass player John Entwistle, he was told that people constantly got The Who and The Guess Who mixed up. Tired of being yelled at for not playing the song, The Who started to just to keep the crowd happy. Bachman responded that The Guess Who had the same reasons for having to play My Generation.

Also covered by:

References in popular culture[edit source | editbeta][]

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