"Shame on You" is a

Western Swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

song written by

Spade Cooley Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American convicted murderer and former Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. In 1961 he was arrested and convicted for the Ap ...

and became his signature song.

Background

The title comes from the refrain that starts each verse: In the song, the singer is rebuking his straying girlfriend. The recording was Cooley's first after taking over the band from

Jimmy Wakely Jimmy Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies ...

, and the first of an unbroken chain of six hits which led to him being on the cover of ''Billboard'' in March 1946. "Shame On You" was the first song whose rights were owned by the

Hill & Range Hill & Range (originally "Hill and Range Songs, Inc.") is a music publishing company which was particularly responsible for much of the country music produced in the 1950s and 1960s, and had control over the material recorded by Elvis Presley over ...

publishing company, which later grew to become a dominant force in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

. Autobiography of Julian Aberbach

Chart performance

First recorded by Spade Cooley, it was released January 15, 1945 (OKeh 6731). With vocals by

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...

, it reached number one, spending 31 weeks on the charts. The "B" side, "A Pair of Broken Hearts"—also a hit—reached number eight.

Cover Versions

*Later in 1945, "Shame on You" was recorded as a

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...

by The

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

Orchestra with

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

. Their version also went to number one on the country charts. The B-side of the song, entitled, "At Mail Call Today", went to number three on the country charts. Coast Records, based in Los Angeles released a version by Walt Shrum and His Colorado Hillbillies.Billboard Aug 4, 1945. page 19. *"Shame on You" has also been recorded by several other Western swing bands.

References

Bibliography

*Komorowski, Adam. ''Spade Cooley: Swingin' The Devil's Dream''. (Proper PVCD 127, 2003) booklet. *Lange, Jeffrey J.''Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly: Country Music's Struggle for Respectability, 1939-1954''. Western swing songs 1945 songs {{1940s-country-song-stub