"Shakey Ground" is a 1975 R&B single by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. It was co-written by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

guitarist

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 19 ...

, who plays lead guitar on the song.

Background

Original Funkadelic bassist

Billy "Bass" Nelson William "Billy Bass" Nelson (born January 28, 1951) is a U.S. musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Caree ...

also plays on the song.

Personnel

* Lead vocals by

Dennis Edwards Dennis Edwards Jr. (February 3, 1943 – February 1, 2018) was an American soul and R&B singer who was best known as the frontman in The Temptations, on Motown Records. Edwards joined the Temptations in 1968, replacing David Ruffin and sang ...

* Background vocals by

Damon Harris Otis Robert "Damon" Harris Jr. (July 17, 1950 – February 18, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. Twenty years old when he joined the group, Harris was the youngest member ...

Richard Street Richard Allen Street (October 5, 1942 – February 27, 2013) was an American soul and R&B singer, most notable as a member of Motown vocal group The Temptations from 1971 to 1993. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Street was the first memb ...

Melvin Franklin David Melvin English (October 12, 1942 – February 23, 1995) better known by the stage name Melvin Franklin, or his nickname "Blue", was an American bass singer. Franklin was best known for his role as a founding member of Motown singing ...

and

Otis Williams Otis Williams (born Otis Miles Jr.; October 30, 1941) is an American baritone singer.Ribowsky, Mark (2010). ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Endearing Soul of the Temptations''. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 7–9 He is o ...

* Guitar by

* Bass by

Billy Bass Nelson William "Billy Bass" Nelson (born January 28, 1951) is a U.S. musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career ...

* Soprano saxophone by

Donald Charles Baldwin Donald Charles Baldwin (born 20 April 1953) is an American musician, arranger, and composer. He achieved significant commercial success with recordings he wrote, arranged, and performed for Motown Records and Invictus/ Hot Wax Records from 1970 to 1 ...

* Instrumentation by various

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

studio musicians

Chart history

"Shakey Ground" was the last by the group to reach the number-one spot on the ''Billboard''

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart: the song also crossed over to the pop chart, reaching number twenty-six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists: *

Van McCoy Van Allen Clinton McCoy (January 6, 1940 – July 6, 1979) was an American musician, record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer and orchestra conductor. He is known for his 1975 internationally successful song " The Hustle". He has approximat ...

covered it for his 1975 album '' Disco Baby''. *

Phoebe Snow Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs " San Francisco Bay Blues", " Poetry Man", "Harpo's Blues", and her credited ...

recorded it for her 1976 album '' It Looks Like Snow''. *

Renée Geyer Renée Rebecca Geyer (born 11 September 1953) is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with " It's a Man's Man's ...

included the song on her 1976 album '' Really Really Love You: Live at the Dallas Brooks Hall''. *

Delbert McClinton Delbert McClinton (born November 4, 1940) is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist. From his first professional stage appearance in 1957 to his most recent national tour in 2018, ...

included it on his 1980 album ''The Jealous Kind''. * Etta James recorded a version for her 1989 album '' Seven Year Itch''. * Elton John and Don Henley performed it on John's 1993 album ''

Duets A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers. Duets or The Duets may also refer to: Films and television * ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis * "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...

''. *

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the lat ...

recorded the song for their 2000 album '' Fishbone and the Familyhood Nextperience Present: The Psychotic Friends Nuttwerx''. * Aerosmith covered it for their 2012 album ''

Music from Another Dimension! ''Music from Another Dimension!'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on November 6, 2012, by Columbia Records. Their first studio album since 2004's '' Honkin' on Bobo'', as well as the first to feature all-n ...

'', on which it ended up a Japanese bonus track. *

Max Creek Max Creek is an American rock band that was formed by Dave Reed, John Rider and Bob Gosselin in 1971. Max Creek has a loyal following, and put on an annual music festival at Indian Lookout Country Club in upstate New York, dubbed Camp Creek, and w ...

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and ente ...

rock band, has been performing the song since the 1980s and continues to do so today. * Founding member of the Grateful Dead, Bob Weir, has also performed the song live over 20 times; since 2012, Weir has performed the song with his bands Furthur,

Ratdog RatDog is an American rock band. The group began in 1995 as a side project for Grateful Dead guitarist and singer Bob Weir. After the Dead disbanded later that year, RatDog became Weir's primary band. They performed some Grateful Dead songs, a mix ...

Dead & Company Dead & Company is an American rock band consisting of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir (guitar and vocals), Mickey Hart (drums), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums), along with John Mayer (guitar and vocals), Oteil Burbridge (bass, percussion, and ...

, Bob Weir and the Wolf Bros., as well as at solo acoustic concerts. *Bernie Marsden (formerly of

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own en ...

) recorded it for his 1981 album ''Look At Me Now''.

References

1975 singles The Temptations songs Renée Geyer songs Song recordings produced by Jeffrey Bowen Songs written by Jeffrey Bowen 1975 songs Gordy Records singles {{1970s-R&B-song-stub