"Shake Your Hips" (sometimes known as "Hip Shake") is a song written by Louisiana bluesman

Slim Harpo Slim Harpo (born James Isaac Moore; January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) was an American blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiri ...

. He recorded it in February 1966 for producer J. D. Miller for a follow-up single to his hugely successful "

Baby Scratch My Back "Baby Scratch My Back" is a 1965 rhythm and blues song by blues singer Slim Harpo. It is mostly an instrumental piece with occasional monologue and harmonica fills by Harpo. Although it had some success with rock audiences (reaching number 16 ...

". Miller's

Excello Records Excello Records was an American blues independent record label, started by Ernie Young in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, in 1953 as a subsidiary of Nashboro, a gospel label. History It recorded such artists as Lonnie Brooks, Lightnin' Slim ...

released it as a single in June 1966 and in October, the song became the lead track for Slim Harpo's 1966 album ''Baby Scratch My Back'', which was a long-term release in Excello's catalogue. Slim Harpo biographer Martin Hawkins describes it as a "dance-instruction song

ith a The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

fast-paced, hypnotic shoeshine beat". He notes contributions by

Lazy Lester Leslie Johnson (June 20, 1933 – August 22, 2018), better known as Lazy Lester, was an American blues musician who sang and played the harmonica and guitar. In a career spanning the 1950s to 2018, he pioneered swamp blues, and also played h ...

on percussion and

Katie Webster Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Career Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband rec ...

on organ.

Reception and influence

A June 18, 1966, "Spotlight Singles" review in ''Billboard'' magazine included "Harpo follows up his hit '

' with two blues-based sides. Dance-teaching tune is backed by a solid blues weeper with harmonica backing". The review predicted that the single would reached the top 60 of the magazine's Hot 100 singles chart, however, it stalled at number 116 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart for July 23, 1966. Hawkins notes "It seems that 'Shake Your Hips' was a more influential disc than its chart position indicated, and it sold widely over a long period".

The Rolling Stones version

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

recorded the song for their album '' Exile on Main St.''. It was

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

's idea to record it for the album. The Stones recorded this in London, but reworked it at

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

' villa in the South of France, where the band was staying on their "exile." It was recorded to sound like a '50s record.

Other renditions

The song has been recorded by many artists, including

Love Sculpture Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues rock band that was active from 1966 to 1970, led by Dave Edmunds (born 15 April 1944 in Cardiff, Wales), with bassist John David (born 19 January 1946 in Cardiff) and drummer Rob "Congo" Jones (born 13 August ...

for their 1968 album ''Blues Helping''. Other renditions include those by the

Legendary Shack Shakers The Legendary Shack Shakers (originally Those or Th' ) are an American rock band from Murray, Kentucky that was formed in 1995 by J.D. Wilkes. The original line-up formed the band out of a shared interest in rockabilly, blues and Western swi ...

on ''

Cockadoodledon't ''Cockadoodledon't'' is the third studio album by American rock band Legendary Shack Shakers. Released on April 22, 2003, the album established the band's presence on the alternative country scene. Musical style The music of ''Cockadoodledon' ...

'' (2003) and

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

on '' Bring It On Home'' (2012).

References

{{Authority control Slim Harpo songs 1966 songs 1966 singles Blues songs Songs about dancing The Rolling Stones songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller Songs written by Slim Harpo