“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” was Jerry Lee Lewis’s second single after a cover of the country song “Crazy Arms” by Ray Price. Lewis recorded the song for the well-known Sun Records, where Elvis Presley also made some recordings. This song was composed by Dave “Curly” Williams and Roy Hall. The original version of the song was recorded by Big Maybelle. However, the most popular version was the one that is done by Jerry Lee Lewis.
Why Radio Stations Refuse to Play “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” By Jerry Lee Lewis
There are various reasons why radio stations would not want to play this song. For one, they think that it was too suggestive, it seems that Lewis made a curse on it since “We-e-ll-a” seems to sound like “We-hella.” Also, most radio stations refuse to play songs done by black artists, and Lewis’ voice sounded black in this song. Nevertheless, the song went well in the southern part of the United States. Also, there were a lot of controversies around the song since the lyrics of the song are quite indecent, which is shocking, knowing that the singer comes from the Bible Belt.
However, when Jerry Lee Lewis made his TV debut on July 28, 1957, on The Steve Allen Show, it became an instant hit, and more than 6 million copies of the song were sold. This song was included in the Top 5 of the Pop, Country, and R&B charts along with his other hit song, “Great Balls of Fire.” Both of these Jerry Lee Lewis Songs hit number 1 on the Country chart.
“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” by Jerry Lee Lewis was the first Top 40 hit of the country music artist. Lewis had 4 Top 40 hits, and all of them occurred in just a matter of a year and a half. Unfortunately, the singer’s hits were eventually banished when he got married to 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown. Despite having 4 hits only and a not-so-good reputation, Lewis became a well-respected rock pioneer and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Want to listen to the song? Watch the video of the song below:
Tags
jerry lee lewis