"Shake Your Head" is a song by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

group

Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often fea ...

. It was originally released in 1983 on the album ''

Born to Laugh at Tornadoes ''Born To Laugh at Tornadoes'' is a 1983 album by the art-funk band Was (Not Was). ''Rolling Stone'' declared it "conceptually, the best album of the year" shortly after its release. Despite the glowing reviews, ''Tornadoes'' made little commerc ...

''. In 1992, it was re-recorded and remixed by house music producer

Steve "Silk" Hurley Steve W. "Silk" Hurley (born November 9, 1962), also known as J. M. Silk (for "Jack Master Silk"), is an American club DJ, house music producer, and songwriter. From 1985 to 1988, he had four top-10 singles on the US Dance chart, including the ...

, and features actress

Kim Basinger Kimila Ann Basinger ( ; born December 8, 1953) is an American actress and former fashion model. She has garnered acclaim for her work in film and television, for which she has received various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Glo ...

alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. It appears on the group's compilation album, ''Hello Dad... I'm in Jail''.

Background

The original version features

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

singer

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

on lead vocals. A pre-fame

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

had auditioned for the vocal but was not used on the final release. In 1992, it was re-recorded and remixed by house music producer

, and features

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. It appeared on the group's compilation album ''Hello Dad... I'm in Jail''. The original plan was to restore Madonna's vocals to the track for the re-release, but she refused to grant permission, hence Basinger was approached instead. However, Madonna's restored vocals were accidentally released on two occasions. A full Madonna vocal appears on the two-LP and double-cassette formats of compilation release '' Now Dance 92'', entitled the 12-inch mix. The CD format of this compilation includes the regular 7-inch mix, however. Secondly, on the 12-inch and CD single formats of

's follow-up single, "Somewhere in America (There's a Street Named after My Dad)", there is a Dub Mix of "Shake Your Head" which uses several of Madonna's vocals. Although the song did not chart in the US, it was the band's biggest commercial success across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, reaching number four on 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 ...

. There are several versions of the 1992 remake: * The 3:48 single version starts with Osbourne singing "You can't feed the hungry, you can't talk Shakespeare to a monkey..." * The 4:00 album version starts with female vocals (presumably Basinger) singing "You can't argue with death. You can't break a burly sailor's neck. You can't drink lava from plastic glasses...". There is also a Steve "Silk" Hurley 12-inch mix and a 12-inch dub. The song's lyrics deal with things that cannot be done (some are outlandish, some can be done, but have a high amount of difficulty). After Basinger and Osbourne detail these things, the chorus comes in with the title hook.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single # "Shake Your Head" – 3:42 # "I Blew Up the United States" – 3:51 12-inch single :A1. "Shake Your Head" – 6:49 :A2. "I Blew Up the United States" – 3:51 :B1. "Listen Like Thieves" (Giant club mix) :B2. "Listen Like Thieves" (Vandal dub) CD single # "Shake Your Head" # " Spy in the House of Love" # "I Blew Up the United States" # "Robot Girl"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

References

{{Authority control Was (Not Was) songs 1983 songs 1992 singles Fontana Records singles Geffen Records singles Song recordings produced by Don Was Songs written by David Was Songs written by Don Was