Shake, Rattle and Roll
song written and composed by Jesse Stone; originally recorded by Big Joe Turner and released in 1954
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "Charles Calhoun", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the Rolling Stone magazine list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Background
In early 1954, Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records suggested to Jesse Stone that he write an up-tempo blues for Big Joe Turner, a blues shouter whose career had begun in Kansas City before World War II. Stone played around with various phrases before coming up with "shake, rattle and roll". (Stone used his real name for ASCAP songs, while using the pseudonym "Charles Calhoun" for BMI-registered songs, such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll".)
However, the phrase had been used in earlier songs. In 1910, vaudeville performer Baby Franklin Seals published "You Got to Shake, Rattle and Roll", a ragtime tune about gambling with dice, in New Orleans; in 1919, Al Bernard recorded a version of the song.
Joe Turner original
Turner recorded "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in New York City on February 15, 1954. Atlantic released it as a single in April 1954, that reached number one on the U.S. Billboard R&B chart and number 22 on the Billboard singles chart.
Bill Haley & His Comets version
Bill Haley & His Comets recorded a cover version of the song on June 7, 1954, the same week Turner's version first topped the R&B chart. The Comets provided the instrumental accompaniment: Johnny Grande on piano, Billy Williamson on rhythm guitar, Marshall Lytle on bass, and Joey Ambrose on saxophone. Haley's version was released in August and reached number seven on the Billboard singles chart, spending a total of twenty-seven weeks in the Top 40.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Shake, Rattle and Roll” as song written and composed by Jesse Stone; originally recorded by Big Joe Turner and released in 1954. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as song written and composed by Jesse Stone; originally recorded by Big Joe Turner and released in 1954. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q796606. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1954, 1910 and 1919.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Shake, Rattle and Roll” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.