Shake, Rattle & Roll : Rolling Stone

Written by: Charles Calhoun
Produced by: Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler
Released: April '54 on Atlantic
Charts: Predates pop charts

Atlantic Records' contribution to the birth of rock & roll (Wexler and Ertegun even sang backup), "Shake, Rattle & Roll" was written specifically for big-voiced blues singer Turner, one of the label's early stars. Turner had been partying up the blues for decades. "Everybody was singing slow blues when I was young, and I thought I'd put a beat to it and sing it up-tempo," he once said. This track, with its big bounce and raunchy lyrics ("I'm like a one-eyed cat peepin' in a seafood store"), topped the R&B charts; typical of the times, a semi-sanitized cover by Bill Haley and the Comets got white America bopping.

Appears on: The Very Best of Big Joe Turner (Rhino)

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