| "Shake That Thing" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Papa Charlie Jackson | |
| A-side | "The Faking Blues" |
| Released | July 11, 1925 |
| Recorded | May 1925 |
| Genre | Blues |
| Label | Paramount |
| Songwriter(s) | Papa Charlie Jackson |
"Shake That Thing" is a song recorded by Papa Charlie Jackson in 1925, one of the earliest blues standards and a forerunner of hokum.[1] Paramount Records issued it on the B-side of the then standard 10-inch 78 rpm shellac record on July 11, 1925. The song is also known as a first hit record where the male singer accompanies himself.[2] The title of the song (oft-repeated in the lyrics) contains double entendre: at the time "shake it" was a vulgar euphemism for coitus[3] (on the innocent side, it was quite likely a directive for female dancers to shake their hips, the author Stephen Calt thinks that the expression became indecent as a result of the success of the song).[4]