Classic Pop Icons

Johnny Kidd & The Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over” is Song of the Week on Classic Pop Icons.

“Shakin’ All Over” was released in June 1960, backed with “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby,” and would become the band’s biggest and most enduring hit.

Johnny Kidd & The Pirates were signed by HMV in 1959 and hit the ground running with the fine single “Please Don’t Touch” which reached the UK top thirty. Two singles followed (“If You Were the Only Girl in the World” and “You Got What It Takes”) before the band released “Shakin’ All Over” in June 1960.

“Shakin’ All Over” is one of many classic songs that was originally intended as a B-side. Thankfully, someone recognised the potential of “Shakin’ All Over” and decided that it should replace the rather pedestrian and old fashioned “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” as the A-side.

Lyrically, the song is like a cousin to Elvis’ “All Shook Up” and Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”. Johnny Kidd explained how the idea came about:

“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 was written in super quick time the night before the recording session. The band were at the Freight Train coffee bar in London, after a gig at Aylesbury Assembly Rooms, and decided to work on what they thought would be the B-side of their next single. Bassist, Brian Gregg, remembered the incident during an interview for www.brumbeat.com:

“Chas McDevitt, whose place it was, let us go down into the cellar of the coffee bar where we wouldn’t disturb any of the punters. It was really just a storeroom. We all kind of looked at each other not knowing where to begin. I said “Look Johnny – I’ve got a bass run that I like which might be a good start. It goes DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM, DUM-DUM”, tapping out the timing at the same time.

Guitar intro’s were the new ‘must have’ thing in rock music and Alan Caddy said; “We should have a guitar riff too”. He started playing something that was a bit like the Move It (Cliff and The Shadows) opening – a double string run-down in the key of E starting from the G fret. He messed about a little more with variations and single notes and there it was – ‘Diddleadum dum dum dum dum dum’ – the bare bones of the ‘Shakin’ All Over’ guitar intro riff.”

The lead guitar part, played on the recording by session musician Joe Moretti, influenced countless future guitar heroes and is a very important factor in the song’s ongoing appeal. The unusual slide effect was created by sliding a cigarette lighter up and down the fretboard.

The bass line is also an essential component of the song, and made all the more effective by repeating the line two octaves up on the guitar.

Johnny Kidd’s expressive vocal also sounds convincing to this day, with Kidd choosing to sing in an English accent, instead of simply aping Elvis and the other American rockers as most British stars of the time did.

“Shakin’ All Over” was the band’s finest hour, cementing their place in rock ‘n’ roll history.

“Shakin’ All Over” – Johnny Kidd & The Pirates

Authorship

Johnny Kid has the sole writing credit on “Shakin’ All Over”.

Recording date/location

“Shakin’ All Over” was recorded on May 13, 1960 at Abbey Road studios, London.

Musicians

The following musicians appeared on “Shakin’ All Over”:

• Johnny Kidd – vocals
• Joe Moretti – lead guitar
• Alan Caddy – guitar
• Brian Gregg – bass
• Clem Cattini – drums.

Clem Cattini, Alan Caddy and Brian Gregg would go on to join the Tornados.

Chart performance

“Shakin’ All Over” topped the UK singles chart in August 1960. It was not a hit outside of Europe.

Other notable versions

“Shakin’ All Over” – The Guess Who

Canadian rockers, The Guess Who, were the first to have a hit with the song in North America. It’s very similar to the original, but with a little more punch and the addition of an effective piano part.

“Shakin’ All Over” (Live at Leeds) – The Who

The Who incorporated “Shakin’ All Over” into their set after getting requests for the song from people who wrongly assumed that the recording by The Guess Who was their recording. The band played the song as part of their Woodstock set in 1969, and the following year featured it on the live album “Live at Leeds”.

The Who took the rock ‘n’ roll classic and reinvented it, with an extended guitar break from Pete Townshend, imaginative, busy bass work from John Entwistle, Keith Moon’s trademark powerful drumming, and a fine vocal from Roger Daltrey. Playing the Johnny Kidd original and The Who’s cover back-to-back provides a convenient example of how rock music developed from the beginning to the end of the 1960s. The latter performance would have been inconceivable in 1960.

“Shakin’ All Over” is on many compilations, including the 2-CD collection “The Very Best of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates”.

Title
The Very Best of Johnny Kidd & The Pirates	Buy Now	Buy Now	Buy Now