THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

696-Bob & Earl-Harlem Shufle.

1963-It did not chart in the UK until it was re-issued in 1969, when reaching Number 7.

Best Bit-At 0.01. ‘JUMP!’

There have been two incarnations of the duo known as ‘Bob & Earl.’ The original duo who were active between 1957-1962, were Bobby Byrd, (1928-1990) and Earl Nelson, (1928-2008) who had both been members of the American ‘Doo-Wop’ group ‘The Hollywood Flames’ prior to teaming up, together they issued five non charting singles between 1957-1962. Bobby Byrd who is not to be confused with the Bobby Byrd (1934-2007) who closely collaborated with James Brown, also had a parallel solo career, writing and recording for contractual reasons as Bobby Day, and reaching Number 2 on the American Billboard Hot 100 in 1958 with ‘Rockin’ Robin.’ In 1962, Earl Nelson teamed up with a second ‘Bob.’ This was Bob Relf., (1937-2007) and together the new partnership would release two studio Albums, in 1964, and 1969, and nine singles between 1963-1973, with ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ which on it’s original 1963 release reached Number 44 on Billboard. In the UK their only charting song is ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ which peaked at Number 7 on it’s 1969 re-issue.

Earl Lee Nelson was born on September 8th, 1928, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States, he died on July 12th, 2008, at the age of 79, having earlier being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Earl Nelson recorded under different names in the 1960’s, and 1970’s, including ‘Chip Nelson,’ and ‘Earl Cosby,’ but he had the majority of his solo success as ‘Jackie Lee,’ using his wife’s name, and his own middle name. His biggest hit as ‘Jackie Lee’ was with the 1965 single ‘The Duck,’ which reached Number 14 on Billboard.

Bob Relf was born Robert Nelson Relf, on January 10th, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, United States, he died after several years of illness, on November 20th, 2007, at the age of 70. Away from ‘Bob & Earl,’ Relf is probably best remembered for the 1960’s track ‘Blowing My Mind To Pieces,’ which has become a very popular song within the ‘Northern Soul’ community. In the 1970’s Bob Relf worked with Barry White, (1944-2003) (see also best songs 560-476 and 153) co-writing with White, the song ‘Bring Back My Yesterday,’ which was released on White’s debut studio Album ‘I’ve Got So Much to Give,’ in 1973.

‘Harlem Shuffle’ was co-written by Bob Relf, and Earl Nelson, with the production being by Fred Smith, (1933-2005) who is also remembered for his work as a songwriter and producer with ‘The Olympics,’ ‘Bill Cosby,’ and the ‘Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band.’ His co-writes include The Olympics’ 1958 Billboard Number 8, and UK Number 12 hit ‘Western Movies,’ which he also co-produced. The ‘Harlem Shuffle’ describes a dance called the ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ and mentions several other contemporary dances of the early 1960’s, including the ‘Monkey Shine,’ the ‘Limbo,’ the ‘Hitch Hike,’ the ‘Slide,’ and the ‘Pony’ (see also best songs 488.) There were rumours for many years that Barry White had worked on the ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ but in a 1995 interview he stated that he had no involvement with the making of the song. The rumours probably originated because Gene Page, (1939-1998) who had arranged the ‘Harlem Shuffle,’ was a long term collaborator with Barry White.

In 1986 The Rolling Stones (see also best songs 933-662-452-160 and 77) covered ‘Harlem Shuffle’ for their 18th British studio Album ‘Dirty Work,’ with the American Soul singer Bobby Womack (1944-2014) on backing vocals. ‘Harlem Shuffle’ had always been a particular favourite of Keith Richards, who thought the vocal style totally suited Mick Jagger perfectly. The Rolling Stones recording was issued a single, reaching Number 13 in the UK, and Number 5 on Billboard. The Bob & Earl recording has a memorable opening horn section, which was sampled by the ‘Hip-Hop’ group ‘House of Pain’ for their breakthrough hit single ‘Jump Around’ in 1992 (see also best songs 75.) The Beatles guitarist George Harrison, (1943-2001) (see also best songs 737 and 726) has stated that the Bob & Earl version of ‘Harlem Shuffle’ was his favourite song of all time.

You scratch just like a monkey, yeah you do real cool. You slide it to the limbo, yeah how low can you go. Now come on baby, don’t fall down on me now. Just move it right here, to the Harlem shuffle, yeah yeah yeah to the Harlem shuffle.’