All Shook Up

"All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. Billboard Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks.[1] It also topped the Billboard R&B chart for four weeks, becoming Presley's second single to do so, and peaked at No. 1 on the country chart as well.[1] It is certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA.

"All Shook Up"
Single by Elvis Presley
B-side"That's When Your Heartaches Begin"
ReleasedMarch 22, 1957 (1957-03-22)
RecordedJanuary 12, 1957
StudioRadio Recorders, Hollywood, California
GenreRock and roll, rhythm and blues, rockabilly
Length1:57
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Too Much" / "Playing for Keeps"
(1957)
"All Shook Up"
(1957)
"(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" / "Loving You"
(1957)
Music video
"All Shook Up" (audio) on YouTube

It was ranked #352 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

History

Blackwell wrote the song at the offices of Shalimar Music in 1956 after Al Stanton, one of Shalimar's owners, shaking a bottle of Pepsi at the time, suggested he write a song based on the phrase "all shook up."[1]

According to Peter Guralnick, the song has a different origin. In his book Last Train to Memphis he wrote that Elvis thought "All Shook Up" was a good phrase for a refrain. For this he received a co-writing credit.[2]

Elvis himself, during an interview on October 28, 1957, said: "I've never even had an idea for a song. Just once, maybe. I went to bed one night, had quite a dream, and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song, 'All Shook Up'." [3]

Future Last House on the Left actor David Hess, using the stage name David Hill, was the first to record the song on Aladdin Records, titled "I'm All Shook Up". In a 2009 interview, Hess revealed the origins of the song, and claimed to come up with the title of the song: "As far as ‘All Shook Up’, the title came from a real set of circumstances and when I decided not to write it, Otis Blackwell did and I had the first recording for Aladdin Records. It was my title, but Otis wrote the song and Presley took a writing credit in order to get him to record it. That’s the way things happened in those days."[4][5][6]

Vicki Young recorded a different song with the same title, "(I'm) All Shook Up", on Capitol Records with Big Dave and His Orchestra, written by Bill Bellman and Hal Blaine in 1956.[7]

On January 12, 1957, Presley recorded the song at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.[1] The duet vocal on the record is by the Jordanaires first tenor Gordon Stoker. Take 10 was selected for release, and in March the song entered Billboard's Top 100 chart at #25.[1] Within three weeks it had knocked Perry Como's "Round and Round" off the top spot, and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks.[1] The song also became Presley's first No. 1 hit on the UK Singles Chart, remaining there for seven weeks.[8] Sales of the single exceeded two million,[1] and the song was named Billboard's Year End number one song for 1957.

Personnel

The Blue Moon Boys
The Jordanaires
  • Gordon Stoker – harmony and backing vocals
  • Hoyt Hawkins – backing vocals, piano
  • Neal Matthews, Hugh Jarrett – backing vocals[9]

Charts and certifications

Chart (1957) Peak
position
US Billboard The Top 100 1
US Billboard Best Sellers in Stores 1
US Billboard Most Played by Jockeys 1
US Billboard Most Played in Jukeboxes 1
US Billboard Hot Country Songs 1

The verse "itching like a man on a Fuzzy tree" refers to a tree that is infested by the Fall ( Autumn ) webworm (Hyphantria cunea). This caterpillar covers trees with webs that make the tree look "fuzzy". They also cause an Itchy rash.

Beatles version

According to biographer Mark Lewisohn in The Complete Beatles Chronicle (p. 361), The Beatles (first as The Quarrymen) regularly performed the song, from 1957 through 1960 (possibly later) with Paul McCartney on lead vocal. There is no known recorded version from that time. However Quarryman Len Garry (in his book John, Paul & Me p. 154) states that it was one of the songs the group played on July 6, 1957, the day John Lennon met Paul McCartney and that the song was recorded then (but was erased later). Author Doug Sulpy (in Drugs, Divorce And A Slipping Image sec. 3.13) adds that on Jan. 13, 1969 during the massive Get Back sessions, they did record a "spirited" version of it with Paul McCartney and George Harrison sharing vocals. John Lennon did not join in the recording as he was sitting watching while having tea. That version of the song remains officially unreleased (due to it being in mono and Paul and George not remembering all the lyrics by that late date). In 1999 Paul McCartney cut a hard-rocking version on the album Run Devil Run, while his surviving Quarrymen bandmates recorded it in 2004 on Songs We Remember.

Billy Joel version

"All Shook Up"
Single by Billy Joel
from the album Honeymoon in Vegas
B-side
  • "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck"
  • "Surrender"
Released1992
FormatCD single
GenreRock
Length2:09
Songwriter(s)Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley
Billy Joel singles chronology
"Shameless"
(1991)
"All Shook Up"
(1992)
"The River of Dreams"
(1993)

In 1991, Billy Joel recorded the song for the movie Honeymoon in Vegas, which also featured other Elvis Presley songs by various artists. It was released as a single and peaked at No. 92 in the US and No. 27 in the UK.

Chart positions

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[10] 54
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 28
French Singles Chart[12] 60
German Media Control Charts 52
Irish Singles Chart 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 26
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 27
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 92
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[16] 15

Other recordings and notable performances

  • Suzi Quatro recorded the song for her debut solo album Suzi Quatro in 1973.[17] (The title of this album in Australia is Can the Can). Her recording of the song was released as a single in 1974 and peaked at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18] Presley invited Quatro to Graceland, commenting that her version was the best since the original. Quatro declined the offer.
  • Jim Dale released a version as a single on Parlophone records in 1957.

Derivatives and parodies

Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey included a strongly derivative piece, "All Choked Up", as part of the original version of the musical Grease. The song was included in the Broadway version; in 1978, when the musical was adapted as a feature film of the same name, "All Choked Up" was not included, and a new song, "You're the One That I Want" (which bore no musical resemblance to "All Shook Up"), was used instead and went on to become a major hit.

See also

References

  1. Worth, Fred (1992). Elvis: His Life from A to Z. Outlet. pp. 345–346. ISBN 978-0-517-06634-8.
  2. Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, 1994, pp. 386–387, ISBN 978-0-316-33220-0
  3. "Interview with Elvis Presley". Official Elvis Presley Fan Club. October 28, 1957. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  4. "David Hess: Elvis Presley sang my songs, I got paid off, and the rest is history". 20 November 2009.
  5. "Elv1s 30 #1 Hits, 6 All Shook Up". www.elvisnumberones.com. New York, USA: Elvis Presley Estate. Archived from the original on October 8, 2002. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  6. Spielberg, Theo. "David Hess, Songwriter of Elvis Hits and Horror Actor, Dead at 69". Spinner. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  7. "Vicki Young". Saxonyrecordcompany.com. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  8. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  9. http://www.keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/570112.html
  10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  11. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1933." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  12. InfoDisc, Daniel Lesueur, Dominic Durand, Lesueur. "InfoDisc : Bilan des Ventes par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2016-08-28.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "Charts.nz – Billy Joel – All Shook Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  14. "Billy Joel: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  15. "Billy Joel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  16. "Billy Joel Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  17. Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 785–6. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  18. Unterberger, Richie. "Suzi Quatro - Awards : AllMusic". www.allmusic.com. Ann Arbor, USA: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
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