"Sha-La-La-La-Lee" was the third song by English R&B-influenced group

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...

, recorded in December 1965 and released on 28 January 1966, reaching number three in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It was also the first single by the group to feature

Ian McLagan Ian Patrick McLagan (; 12 May 1945 – 3 December 2014) was an English keyboardist, best known as a member of the rock bands Small Faces and Faces. He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones and led his own band from the late 1970s. He was in ...

on keyboards.

Background

Because Small Faces' previous song release, the Marriott/Lane composition "

I've Got Mine "I've Got Mine" was the second official song released by the English rock band Small Faces in 1965. The song failed to chart despite receiving favourable reviews in the British music press. "I've Got Mine" is a hard-hitting, moody R&B song and ...

," failed to chart in the UK, their manager,

Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbath ...

, determined that the Small Faces would not be one hit wonders, decided to bring in well-known songwriters

Kenny Lynch Kenneth Lynch, OBE (18 March 1938 – 18 December 2019) was an English singer, songwriter, entertainer, and actor. He appeared in many variety shows in the 1960s. At the time, he was among the few black singers in British pop music. He was app ...

and

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as ...

to make sure the group's next single would be a success. The commercial-sounding song proved a big hit and reached number three in the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Despite the success of "Sha-La-La-La-Lee," the band never really liked the song and felt it did not represent their sound, which was more R&B- and soul-oriented. Following the huge success of this song, the band developed a large female fan base, like many of their contemporaries. This situation would ultimately end in Marriott becoming so disenchanted that he would leave The Small Faces in 1969 in a bid to be seen as a serious musician and form his next group, the heavier rock- and blues-sounding

Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...

. Small Faces performed "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" live for the

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

show in the United States, telerecorded from the UK.

B-side

The B-side "Grow Your Own" written by the band, is an instrumental recording and strongly influenced in style by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, of whom all the group were big fans. "Grow Your Own" heavily features

on the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

Usage

In Japan, "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", arranged to

French pop French pop music is pop music sung in the French language. It is usually performed by singers from France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, or any of the other francophone areas of the world. The target audience is the francophone market (primar ...

style, was used for the advertisement of

Suzuki Alto Lapin The Suzuki Lapin is a kei car with a five-door hatchback body, manufactured since 2002 by Suzuki for the Japanese market only, and was also marketed in Japan only by Mazda as Mazda Spiano under an Original equipment manufacturer, OEM agreement t ...

. It was used in the second episode of the first season of the 2019 British TV series, Sex Education.

Personnel

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted po ...

– lead and backing vocals, electric guitar *

Ronnie Lane Ronald Frederick Lane (1 April 1946 – 4 June 1997) was an English musician and songwriter who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of Small Faces (1965–69) and subsequently Faces (1969–73). Lane formed Small Faces in ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

– Hammond organ, piano, backing vocals *

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces ...

– drums *

- backing vocals

Other recordings

* German band

The Rattles The Rattles are a German rock band, formed in Hamburg in 1960, best known for their 1970 psychedelic hit single, "The Witch". Career The Rattles performed in Hamburg, and played at the same venues as The Beatles on several occasions in 1962. In ...

released their cover version in February 1966 as The ´In´ Crowd, single Star Club Records 148 547, 02.1966. * Yugoslav rock band

Siluete Siluete ( sr-cyr, Силуете, trans. ''The Silhouettes'') were a Serbian and Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1961. They were one of the pioneers of the Yugoslav rock scene. Soon after the formation, Siluete, fronted by charismatic ...

covered this song with Serbo-Croatian lyrics under title "Tvoj rođendan" ("Your Birthday") in 1966. * Czech singer

Václav Neckář Václav Neckář (born 23 October 1943 in Prague) is a Czech singer and actor. He is best known for his performance as Miloš Hrma in ''Closely Watched Trains''. Between 1978 and 1979 he cooperated with Polish singer Anna Jantar during their perf ...

also did a cover version for this song in Czech in 1966. * Evelyne Courtois, a French female singer of the 1960s, covered the song in 1966 as "Ce N'est Pas Une Vie" under her stage name 'Pussy Cat'. *

Plastic Bertrand Roger François Jouret (born 24 February 1954), better known as Plastic Bertrand, is a Belgium, Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, editor and television presenter, best known for the 1977 international hit single "Ça plane pour moi". Bi ...

also did a cover version for this song in French in 1978.

Notes and references