Shout and Shimmy

"Shout and Shimmy" is an R&B song written by James Brown, and recorded by him and The Famous Flames. It rose to #16 on the R&B chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1]

The critic Douglas Wolk described the song as "a truly shameless ripoff of The Isley Brothers' 1959 hit "Shout"... basically the fast parts of "Shout" with the gospel inflections removed and the word 'shimmy' added."^[2] Wolk argues that Brown and The Famous Flames probably performed "Shout and Shimmy" in the October 24, 1962 concerts at which Live at the Apollo was recorded, but that it was left off of the album to prevent sales competition with the studio version of the song. Evidence to support this contention includes the fact that Brown customarily began his concerts with his latest hit (which "Shout and Shimmy" was at the time), and the presence of "Shout and Shimmy"'s a cappella opening ("You know I feel all right...") immediately before the first song on the album, "I'll Go Crazy". James and The Famous Flames sang and performed this song on Dick Clark's American Bandstand,on a telecast dated June 11th, 1962.^[3] A performance of "Shout and Shimmy" was the first track on Brown & The Flames' next live album, 1964's Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal,featuring a comedy skit between Brown and Famous Flame Bobby Bennett.

Cover version

The Who recorded a cover version of "Shout and Shimmy" in 1965 that was released as the B-side of their "My Generation" single in the UK. This version was produced by Shel Talmy. They are seen performing the song in the documentary film The Kids Are Alright (1979). The song was released on CD in 2002 on the deluxe edition re-release of the My Generation album.

References