"Shake Me I Rattle (Squeeze Me I Cry)" is a song written by Hal Hackady and Charles Naylor. It was originally recorded by

The Lennon Sisters The Lennon Sisters are an American vocal group made up of four sisters. The quartet originally consisted of Dianne (aka DeeDee; born Dianne Barbara, December 1, 1939), Peggy (born Margaret Anne, April 8, 1941), Kathy (born Kathleen Mary, Augu ...

in 1957, but did not become commercially successful until a 1962 release by

Marion Worth Marion Worth (born Mary Ann Ward; July 4, 1930 – December 19, 1999) was an American country music singer. She was a popular performer on the ''Grand Ole Opry'' in Nashville, Tennessee. She also had several hits in the early 1960s. Early life ...

. 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 classic pop and 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. 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, backed by "Pocahontas" on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

. 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 advertise ...

'' 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 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, ...

singer

in 1962. After signing with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, 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 is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. 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 worke ...

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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

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 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), radio play, and online streaming ...

, 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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

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 LS Records is an American record label. It was founded by Lee Stoller in 1975. History In the mid 1970s, Lee Stoller chose to sign country music act, Daniel Willis, as the label's first artist. Willis was later dropped from the label after having ...

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 with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' 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