Shame On You (Cooley song)

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"Shame On You"
Written by Spade Cooley
Language English
Form Western swing
Original artist Spade Cooley & His Western Band
Recorded by (many other artists)

"Shame On You" is a Western swing song written by Spade Cooley and became his signature song.

The title comes from the refrain that starts each verse:

Shame, shame on you.
Shame, shame on you.

In the song, the singer is rebuking his straying girlfriend.

First recorded by Spade Cooley, it was released January 15, 1945 (OKeh 6731). With vocals by Tex Williams, it reached #1 spending 31 weeks on the charts.[1] The "b" side, "A Pair Of Broken Hearts"—also a hit—reached #8. The recording was Cooley's first after taking over the band from Jimmy Wakely, and the first of an unbroken chain of six hits which lead to him being on the cover of Billboard in March of 1946.[2]

"Shame On You" has be recorded by several other Western swing bands.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits.
  2. ^ Lange, Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly, p. 109: "In March 1946, Cooley made the cover of Billboard; an accompanying story reported his drawing over twelve thousand patrons a weekend at the Rancho [Riverside Rancho ballroom]."

[edit] Bibliography

  • Komorowski, Adam. Spade Cooley: Swingin' The Devil's Dream. (Proper PVCD 127, 2003) booklet.
  • Lange, Jeffrey J.Smile When You Call Me a Hillbilly: Country Music's Struggle for Respectability, 1939-1954. ISBN 0-8203-2623-2
  • Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8230-8291-1


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