"Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" is a song written by

Hal Hackady Harold Clayton MacHackady (February 10, 1922 – October 12, 2015), best known as Hal Hackady, and sometimes credited as Hal Hackaday, was an American lyricist, librettist and screenwriter. Life He was born in Middletown, Connecticut in 192 ...

and Charles Naylor. It was originally recorded by

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group that has been made up, at one time or another, of three or four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (a.k.a. DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Ann ...

in 1957, but did not become commercially successful until a 1962 release by Marion Worth. It was later recorded in 1977 by

Cristy Lane Cristy Lane (born Eleanor Johnston; January 8, 1940) is an American Christian and country music singer. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had a series of hits on the North American country charts with songs like " Let Me Down Easy", " I Just ...

, who also had a major hit with the song.

The Lennon Sisters version

"Shake Me I Rattle" was originally recorded by American

traditional pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western culture, Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known ...

vocal group The Lennon Sisters. The song was first composed by Hal Hackady and Charles Naylor. The sister trio recorded the track in 1957 in sessions produced by

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

. In August 1957, "Shake Me I Rattle" was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

via

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

, backed by "Pocahontas" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. The song was later included on their 1957 album titled ''Let's Get Acquainted''. "Shake Me I Rattle" was reviewed favorably by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine in September 1957. "Girls sing out sweetly on folksy ditty with strong kiddie appeal about a tot and her toy," they wrote.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" – 2:33 * "Pocahontas" – 2:06

Marion Worth version

"Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" was notably recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer Marion Worth in 1962. After signing with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, Worth had several major hits on the American country charts in the early 1960s. Worth recorded "Shake Me I Rattle" in October 1962 at the Columbia Recording Studio, located in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. During the same session, she cut two more sides alongside producers

Don Law Donald Firth Law (February 24, 1902 – December 20, 1982) was an English-American record producer and music business executive. He produced Robert Johnson's only recordings, and as head of Columbia Records' country music division later worked w ...

and Frank Jones. Worth's version was released as a single on the Columbia label in November 1962. Worth's version of the song became the first to be commercially successful. It spent multiple weeks on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, peaking at number 14 on the chart in 1963. The song became Worth's fifth charting single in her music career. It was also her first (and only) single to reach the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, peaking at number 42 around the same time.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" – 2:58 * "Tennessee Teardrops" 7" vinyl single (promotional version) * "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" – 2:58 * "My Dolley Has a Pain in Her Sawdust" – 2:31

Charts

Cristy Lane version

Under the title "Shake Me I Rattle," American

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and country singer

notably recorded the song in 1977. She had recently attained commercial success in the country field under her husband's record label with the top ten hit " Let Me Down Easy". Lane recorded "Shake Me I Rattle" shortly after her previous hit. The session took place in September 1977 at LSI Studio, located in

. One additional track was cut during the same session under the production of

Charlie Black Charles Frank Black (November 23, 1949 – April 23, 2021) was an American country music songwriter and record producer. Biography Black graduated from University of Maryland in 1970 and moved to Nashville, Tennessee the same year. His first c ...

. The single was released via LS Records in November 1977, backed by the song "Pretty Paper". "Shake Me I Rattle" spent multiple weeks on the ''Billboard''

chart between late 1977 and early 1978 before peaking at number 16. It became Lane's second major hit in her career. In Canada, the single also reached the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Singles chart, where it peaked at number 28. In February 1978, Lane's version was released in second studio album titled ''

Cristy Lane Is the Name ''Cristy Lane Is the Name'' is a studio album by American country and Christian singer Cristy Lane. The album was released in February 1978 via LS Records and contained a total of 12 tracks. It was the second album issued in Lane's recording care ...

''.

Track listing

7" vinyl single * "Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" – 2:59 * "Pretty Paper" – 2:29

Charts

References

{{Cristy Lane 1957 singles 1962 singles 1977 singles Brunswick Records singles Columbia Records singles Cristy Lane songs LS Records singles Marion Worth songs Song recordings produced by Don Law