"Hippy Hippy Shake" is a song written and recorded by Chan Romero in 1959.[1][2] That same year, it reached No. 3 in Australia. Romero was 17 years old when he wrote the song.
A live version of "Hippy Hippy Shake" can be found on The Beatles album Live at the BBC. That version was recorded in July 1963, almost certainly pre-dating The Swinging Blue Jeans recording. The Beatles also played the song in their early days when they performed in small clubs. It is included on Live! At the Star-Club, Hamburg 1962. Another version, recorded on 10 September 1963 for "Pop Go The Beatles", can be found on On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2.[5] The Beatles also revisited the song during the sessions for the Let It Be album and film in January 1969. That version is currently unreleased but is available on various bootleg recordings.
A version by UK-based band The Swinging Blue Jeans was released in December 1963. This single reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 24 in the US charts in early 1964. The song became their biggest hit in both the UK and the US. With this song the Swinging Blue Jeans became one of the earliest British acts to chart in the US during the British Invasion, following The Beatles,[7]Dusty Springfield,[7] and The Dave Clark Five,[7] and debuting the same week as The Searchers.[7]
The song was covered by the glam rock band Mud in 1974, being released on their album Mud Rock which reached No. 8 in the UK Albums Chart.[8]
British garage rock musician Billy Childish and his band The Milkshakes also recorded a cover on their 1984 album 20 Rock And Roll Hits of the 50s and 60s.
The song was also covered by Davy Jones in 1987 as the B-side of his single "After Your Heart".
In 1979, The B-52's song "Dance This Mess Around", which featured numerous 1960s pop culture references, repeated the line, "Hippy hippy forward hippy hippy hippy hippy hippy shake", an allusion to this song.[citation needed]
