Shake It (Iain Matthews song)

"Shake It" was written and recorded by Terence Boylan in 1977. It was covered the following year by Ian Matthews for his album Stealin' Home and became a Top 20 hit single in February 1979.

"Shake It"
Single by Ian Matthews
from the album Stealin' Home
B-side"Stealin' Home"
ReleasedDecember 1978
RecordedChipping Norton Recording Studios 1978
GenreSoft rock[1]
Length3:10
LabelRockburgh/Mushroom
Songwriter(s)Terence Boylan
Producer(s)Sandy Robertson & Ian Matthews
Ian Matthews singles chronology
"Tigers Will Survive"
(1977)		 "Shake It"
(1978)		 "Give Me an Inch"
(1978)

Background

Concurrent with his Top 40 success with "Shake It", Ian Matthews would tell Rolling Stone: "I don’t think I did anything different [to record a hit single]. I guess it's my reward. After all, I've been doing exactly what I want for 14 or 15 years." [2] However, Matthews would later acknowledge that on the single's parent album: Stealin' Home, "I tried to add just a couple of songs that had Top 40 potential, without compromising the rest of the material [and the album] did precisely what it was supposed to do: it raised my profile, without lowering my credibility." [3] (Matthews, who had reached #23 on the Hot 100 in 1972 fronting the Matthews Southern Comfort single "Woodstock", had as a solo act had one prior Hot 100 entry with "Da Doo Ron Ron" also in 1972.) Also Matthews would give credit for the success of "Shake It" to Mushroom Records, who picked up the Stealin' Home album for U.S. and Canadian release: (Ian Matthews quote) "I've had potential hit singles on [earlier] albums...but there's never been the enthusiasm I've had from this record company. It [gave] me a hit single."[4]

"Shake It" had first been recorded by its composer Terence Boylan, being introduced on Boylan's 1977 self-titled album on which Timothy B. Schmit – who would join the Eagles that same year – sang background on eight of the nine tracks including "Shake It", which track also featured guitarist Al Kooper.[5] Not chosen for US single release, Boylan's "Shake It" was given a 4 November 1977 single release in Ian Matthews's native UK; however Matthews had been living in the US since 1973, and it was on an FM radio station in Seattle that he first heard Boylan's "Shake It". After Matthews phoned the radio station for info on the track the disc jockey sent him a copy of the Terence Boylan album from which Matthews would "cover" two songs: "Shake It" and "Don't Hang Up Your Dancing Shoes", for his album Stealin' Home[6] recorded in the summer of 1978.[7]

One of two tracks on Stealin' Home to feature Mel Collins on sax, "Shake It" was issued as the album's lead single to become Matthews's first Top 40 hit, reaching a Hot 100 peak of #13 within a 19-week Hot 100 tenure.[8] "Shake It" was especially popular in New England, reaching #2 in Springfield, Massachusetts (WAQY) and #3 in Bangor, Maine (WLBZ).[9] The year-end tally for Hot 100 hits of 1979 would rank "Shake It" at #73. "Shake It" would remain Matthews's only Top 40 hit as a solo act: the second single from the Stealin' Home album, the Robert Palmer composition "Give Me an Inch", peaked at #67 as Matthews's final Hot 100 entry. (The Boylan composition "Don't Hang Up Your Dancing Shoes", the third single release off Stealin' Home afforded Matthews his final appearance on a Billboard chart, peaking at #42 on the magazine's Easy Listening hit ranking, where "Shake It" had reached #21 and "Give Me an Inch" #43.)[10]

Although "Woodstock" had afforded Matthews' Southern Comfort a three-week tenure at #1 in the UK in 1970 Matthews would never appear on the UK chart as a solo act despite a string of UK single releases, including "Shake It" released in February 1979 after three previous tracks off Stealin' Home had failed as singles. "Shake It" would afford Matthews a Top Ten hit in Canada, peaking at #6:[11] the track had been especially popular in New Brunswick, reaching #1 on CIHI in Fredericton.[9] "Shake It" would also become a Top 20 hit in New Zealand,[12] and would chart in Australia with a #65 peak.

Sales of 800,000 units were cited for Matthews's "Shake It" single in May 1979.[13]

Use in media

"Shake It" is heard at the beginning of the 1980 movie Little Darlings: (Ian Matthews quote) "The first I knew about the song being in the movie was when it came out and a friend called to ask if I’d heard it." [6] The song can also be heard on the radio in the game The Warriors from Rockstar Games.

Chart performance
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References
  1. Shea, Eric. "Orphans & Outcasts: A Collection of Demos by Iain Matthews". Rhapsody. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014.
  2. Jancik, Wayne (1990). The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders. NYC: Watson-Guptill/Billboard Books. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-8230-7530-0.
  3. http://omnivorerecordings.com/press-release-iain-matthews-stealin-home/
  4. Indianapolis News 19 April 1979 "Right Record Company Brings Matthews Success" by Zach Dunkin p.38
  5. admin. "1977 Terence Boylan – Terence Boylan". www.sessiondays.com.
  6. Ragogna, Mike (29 August 2014). "Solo Concerts, Stealin' Home and Similar Skin: Chats with Bruce Hornsby, Iain Matthews and Umphrey's McGee...Plus!".
  7. Billboard vol 90 #31 (5 August 1978) p. 78
  8. "Artist-Title Main Search Page". Music.ttoilleb.com. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  9. warden, tim. "ARSA - The Radio Surveys / Record Charts Site". las-solanas.com.
  10. "Ian Matthews Songs ••• Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". www.musicvf.com.
  11. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  12. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
  13. The Arizona Daily Star "Matthews Satisfies His Loyal Following" 31 May 1979 by Jose Galvez p.54
  14. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0125a&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=ghhtnqvr0or90ijg711aqt4rk1
  15. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.0112&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=ghhtnqvr0or90ijg711aqt4rk1
  16. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  17. "Billboard Adult Contemporary, February 17, 1979". Billboard. 17 February 1979.
  18. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 24, 1979". tropicalglen.com. 24 February 1979. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2014-11-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "Top 100 Songs of 1979 – Billboard Year End Charts". Bobborst.com. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  21. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 29, 1979". tropicalglen.com. 29 December 1979. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
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