Hippy Hippy Shake
"Hippy Hippy Shake" is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, it reached No. 3 in Australia. Romero was 17 years old when he wrote the song.
Personnel
- Chan Romero – guitar, vocals
- Barney Kessel – rhythm guitar
- Irving Ashby – upright bass
- René Hall – Danelectro bass guitar
- Earl Palmer – drums
The Beatles version
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – vocals, bass
- John Lennon – rhythm guitar
- George Harrison – lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
Other cover versions
- A cover version by Italian rocker Little Tony appeared in the same year and found moderate success in the United Kingdom and Italy.
- A version by Wales-based band Pat Harris and The Blackjacks was released on Pye and preceded by two months that released by The Swinging Blue Jeans, whose hit version was released in December 1963. This single reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and Canada's CHUM Chart, and No. 24 in the United States charts in early 1964. The song, with a guitar solo by Ray Ennis, became their biggest hit in both the UK and North America. With this song the Swinging Blue Jeans became one of the earliest British acts to chart in the US during the British Invasion, following The Beatles, Dusty Springfield, and The Dave Clark Five, and debuting the same week as The Searchers.
- The song was covered by the glam rock band Mud in 1974, being released on their album Mud Rock which reached No. 8 in the UK Albums Chart.
- British garage rock musician Billy Childish and his band The Milkshakes also recorded a cover on their 1984 album 20 Rock And Roll Hits of the 50s and 60s.
- The song was also covered by Davy Jones in 1987 as the B-side of his single "After Your Heart".
- The song was also covered by the band The Georgia Satellites in 1988. That same year, it reached the Billboard Hot 100, the Mainstream Rock Chart, and No. 46 in Canada.
In popular culture
In 1979, The B-52's song "Dance This Mess Around", which featured numerous 1960s pop culture references, repeated the line, "Hippy hippy forward hippy hippy hippy hippy hippy shake", an allusion to this song.
In the Full House episode "The House Meets the Mouse", the fictional band Jesse and the Rippers performed this song live at Walt Disney World. In 2013, Jesse and the Rippers again performed this song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as part of their one-night-only reunion.