Released December 22, 1964 Recorded November 16, 1964 | Format 7-inch 45 rpm Label RCA (8486) | |
B-side "A Change Is Gonna Come" Studio RCA, Hollywood, California | ||
"Shake" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke It was recorded at the last recording session Cooke had before his death in December 1964. In the U.S., the song became a posthumous Top 10 hit for Cooke, peaking at number seven in February 1965.
Other renditions
The song was also recorded by Eric Burdon and The Animals, Otis Redding, Ike and Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, and The Supremes on We Remember Sam Cooke (1965). Redding's version was elected to the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll " by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Redding performed the song backed by Booker T. & the MGs at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967. Recordings of the performance have been released by Reprise (1970) and Rhino (1997) records.
In 1966, the British TV show Ready Steady Goes Live (the live version of Ready Steady Go!), devoted a whole programme to a live performance by Redding, who regularly covered many of Cooke's songs. One of the highlights was a version of "Shake" on which Redding was joined by Eric Burdon and Chris Farlowe.
The song was covered by the Small Faces. It was a prominent part of their early live repertoire and featured as the opening track on their debut album Small Faces, and re-released on the Decca Anthology collection.
Eddie and the Hot Rods released a version of the song as the B-side to their 1976 single, "Teenage Depression".
The song was sampled by rapper, Game on his 2011 album, The R.E.D. Album.