HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE
“Hippy Hippy Shake” is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959. That same year, it reached #3 in Australia. Romero was just 17 when he wrote the song. A version by UK-based band The Swinging Blue Jeans was released in December 1963. This single reached the Top 5 (#2) in the UK and just missed the Top 20 (#21) in the US charts in early 1964. The song became their biggest hit in the US. (More from Wikipedia)
The Searchers is another Liverpool band that had numerous hits in the U.K., though they were less successful in the U.S.; their biggest hit songs here were remakes of “Love Potion No. 9” and “Needles and Pins”. The Swinging Blue Jeans barely missed the U.S. Top 20 with their cover of “Hippy Hippy Shake”, which was also recorded by the Beatles. Others include the Cryin’ Shames (not to be confused with the Cryan’ Shames, an American band from the same time period), the Merseybeats, the Hideaways, the Koobas (also known as the Kubas), and one of the first all-female rock bands, the Liverbirds.
(July 2013)
