"Rattlesnake Shake" is a song by British rock group
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
, written by guitarist
Peter Green, which first appeared on the band's 1969 album ''
Then Play On
''Then Play On'' is the third studio album by the British blues rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 19 September 1969. It was the first of their original albums to feature Danny Kirwan (although he is also listed on two tracks on the earlier co ...
''. The track was considered the high point of its parent album, and was one of the band's crowd-favorites in the late 1960s.
Background
Although "
Oh Well" was a hit in the UK, the song was not the group's first single released in the United States. Instead,
Clifford Davis, who was Fleetwood Mac's manager at the time, selected "Rattlesnake Shake" to be released in the US since he thought it would become a big hit, but it did not chart anywhere. After the commercial failure of "Rattlesnake Shake", "Oh Well" was released as the second single, and subsequently became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Mick Fleetwood ranked the song in his top 11 favorite Fleetwood Mac songs of all-time list since he was able to participate in bringing out the character of the song.
According to
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...
, the double-time
shuffle
Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome.
__TOC__
Techniques
Overha ...
near the end of the song was spun out of an improvised jam. "It incorporated the freedom to go off on a tangent, to jam – the classic ‘Do you jam, dude?’ We learned that as players. You hear that alive and well in the double-time structure that I put in at the end, which on stage could last half an hour. It was our way of being in The
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...
."
In a Q&A, Peter Green admitted that "Rattlesnake Shake" was about masturbation, reckoning that the lyrical content was inspired by Fleetwood. Fleetwood would later back up this claim in his 2014 autobiography "Play On", stating that "Rattlesnake Shake" is an ode to masturbation as a cure for the blues. "I'm named in it, as a guy who does the rattlesnake shake to jerk away my sadness whenever I don't have a chick. That was an appropriate immortalisation of my younger self..."
To achieve the rustling noises heard at the end of each chorus, Green found it appropriate to insert the sounds of an actual rattlesnake found on an audio tape.
Critical reception
The song has been well-received; the magazine ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' hailed the track as Peter Green's best song along with "
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...
". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' placed it at #7 on their Top 10 'Peter Green Fleetwood Mac Songs' list.
Paste Magazine
''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
also ranked the song number #19 on the ''20 Best Fleetwood Mac Songs Of All Time'', and was just one of two Peter Green songs to appear on the list, the other being "Oh Well".
Personnel
;Fleetwood Mac
*
Peter Green –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
*
Danny Kirwan
Daniel David Kirwan (13 May 1950 – 8 June 2018) was a British musician whose greatest success came with his role as guitarist, singer and songwriter with the blues rock band Fleetwood Mac between 1968 and 1972. He released three albums as a s ...
– electric guitar
*
John McVie
John Graham McVie (born 26 November 1945) is a British bass guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock bands John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers from 1964 to 1967 and Fleetwood Mac since 1967. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleet ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
*
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...
-
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, handclaps
Cover versions
A different recording of "Rattlesnake Shake" also appears on Mick Fleetwood's solo album, ''
The Visitor''. Released in 1981, this recording featured Peter Green, the track's composer, on guitar and vocals. During this time, Peter Green was beginning to reemerge professionally and had released a series of solo albums. Unlike the 1969 original, the rerecorded 1981 version did manage to chart, peaking at #30 on the Mainstream Rock chart.
Also in 1981,
Bob Welch recorded a live version of the track on his album
Live at The Roxy, with contributions from
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...
(tambourine),
Christine McVie
Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac.
McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...
(maracas),
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...
(drums),
Robbie Patton
Robbie Patton is an English singer-songwriter. His first major exposure came in 1979 when he was selected as the opening act for a Fleetwood Mac tour. Mac member Christine McVie went on to produce Patton's second and third albums, and played keybo ...
(cowbell),
Alvin Taylor
Alvin Taylor (born March 26, 1953) is an American drummer, producer and musical director, who is best known for his work with Elton John, Eric Burdon, George Harrison, Billy Preston, and Bob Welch.
Early life and career
Alvin Taylor starte ...
(guitar),
Robin Sylvester
Robin Sylvester (1950 – 29 October 2022) was an English musician who was best known as a member of the American band RatDog. Although primarily a bass player, he played several instruments, including the guitar and keyboards, and did extensi ...
(bass), Joey Brasler (guitar), and David Adelstein (keyboards). The album was released in 2004.
A 1973 live version of "Rattlesnake Shake" appeared on
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
box set "Pandora's Box" in 1991.
In 2005, former Fleetwood Mac guitarist
Rick Vito
Richard Francis (Rick) Vito (born October 13, 1949, in Darby, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left t ...
covered "Rattlesnake Shake" on an album of the same name.
In 2008, the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band recorded a live version of "Rattlesnake Shake" for their album "''
Blue Again!
''Blue Again'' is a live album by the Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, featuring Rick Vito, released in 2008. It was recorded at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri on 8 February 2008.
Background
The album represented a return to the blu ...
''". This version featured Rick Vito on guitar and vocals.
Five years later, the song was rehearsed for a Mick Fleetwood Blues Band concert.
Christine McVie
Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac.
McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...
had given Mick Fleetwood a call and asked him if she could play at an upcoming gig in Hawaii, to which Fleetwood agreed. The same day, Fleetwood and
Rick Vito
Richard Francis (Rick) Vito (born October 13, 1949, in Darby, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left t ...
brought a piano to her hotel suite and rehearsed "
Don't Stop" and "Rattlesnake Shake". On the night of the gig, Mick Fleetwood alluded to a special guest, without announcing the special guest was Christine McVie. In addition to the aforementioned songs, they also played "Get Like You Used to Be" and "
World Turning
"World Turning" is a song written by Christine McVie and Lindsey Buckingham for the British/American rock band Fleetwood Mac's tenth album, '' Fleetwood Mac''.
Background
While the song was written in 1975, its roots date back to 1968. Fleetwoo ...
".
Personnel (Mick Fleetwood version)
*
Peter Green – vocals, lead guitar
*
Mick Fleetwood
Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of th ...
– drums, percussion
*
Richard Dashut
Richard Charles Dashut (born September 19, 1951) is an American record producer who produced several Fleetwood Mac albums including '' Rumours'', ''Tusk'', '' Live'', '' Mirage'', ''Tango in the Night'', and ''Time''.
Dashut was born in West ...
– percussion
*George Hawkins – bass guitar
*Todd Sharp – guitar
*Lord Tiki – hand drums
*Tony Todaro – percussion
*The Clapettes – percussion
*Ebaali Gbiko – percussion, backing vocals
Charts
References
{{Mick Fleetwood
1969 songs
Songs written by Peter Green (musician)
Fleetwood Mac songs
Reprise Records singles