THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

855-Big Joe Turner-Shake, Rattle and Roll.

1954-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 2.16. Make no mistake, ‘A one eyed cat peepin’ in a seafood store,’ is no children’s story.

‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ is considered by many music critics to have been the first ever major ‘Rock N’ Roll’ hit. This original version by Big Joe Turner (1911-1985) (see also best songs 257) went to Number 1 on the American Billboard ‘R&B’ chart in June 1954, and reached Number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart around the same time. Bill Haley & His Comets (see also best songs 628) recorded their version in June 1954, and the song peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard singles chart, eventually going on to sell in excess of one million copies worldwide.

‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ was written by Jesse Stone (1901-1999) (see also best songs 257) using the pseudonym Charles E. Calhoun. The idea for the song came about in early 1954 when Ahmet Ertegun (1923-2006) (see also best songs 715) the co-founder of Atlantic Records suggested to Jesse Stone that he write an up-tempo ‘Blues’ song for Big Joe Turner, a ‘Blues Shouter,’ whose career had begun as far back as the 1920’s. Stone who played Poker weekly, had a favourite saying when he played, that was ‘shake, rattle and roll,’ which he thought was a good basis for a song. This was actually not the first time that ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ had been used, because in 1910, the Vaudeville performer ‘Baby’ Franklin Seals (1880-1915) published ‘You Got to Shake Rattle and Roll,’ which was a ‘Ragtime’ tune about gambling with dice.

The best known version of ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ is the one recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets, and is the version that many music critics point to as the first ever commercial ‘Rock N’ Roll’ hit record. The Big Joe Turner recording is very sexually suggestive, with lyrics that include,’You wear those dresses, the sun comes shining through,’ and, ‘I can’t believe my eyes all that mess belongs to you.’ In order to assure that the song would be played on the radio, Bill Haley & His Comets replaced those lyrics with, ‘You wearin’ those dresses, your hair done up so nice,’ and ‘You look so warm but your heart is as cold as ice.’ One line that did appear in both the Big Joe Turner, and the Bill Haley & His Comets versions is the ‘One-eyed cat peekin’ in a seafood store.’ It is possible that Bill Haley (1925-1981) thought that a white audience wouldn’t understand that lyrics connotation, or maybe Bill Haley didn’t realise the meaning himself, or maybe it was because Haley had been blind in one eye since childhood, and felt a certain empathy.

Ahmet Ertegun who suggested to Jesse Stone that he write an up-tempo ‘Blues’ song for Big Joe Turner, was born on July 31st, 1923, in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, which is now Istanbul, Turkey. After falling and striking his head on a concrete floor, at a Rolling Stones concert at the Beacon Theatre, in New York City, on October 29th, 2006, he fell in to a coma. He never recovered, and died on December 14, 2006, at the age of 83. Ertegun was the co-founder, and president of ‘Atlantic Records,’ he discovered and promoted many leading ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ and ‘Rock’ musicians, including Aretha Franklin, (1942-2018) (see also best songs 644 and 366) and Led Zeppelin (see also best songs 135 and 66.) Ahmet Ertegun was also a music producer, and a songwriter, his best known compositions include ‘Mess Around,’ for Ray Charles, (1953) and ‘Lovey Dovey,’ (1954) for the ‘Clovers,’ some of the lyrics of ‘Lovey Dovey’ were used by the ‘Steve Miller Band’ in their 1973 song “The Joker’ (see also best songs 715.) Ahmet Ertegun also provided backing vocals on the Big Joe Turner version of ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll.’

‘I’m like a one-eyed cat peepin’ in a seafood store. Well, I can look at you till you ain’t no child no more. Ah, shake, rattle and roll, shake, rattle and roll, shake, rattle and roll, shake, rattle and roll. Well, you won’t do right to save your doggone soul. I get over the hill and way down underneath.’