Shake Your Head

"Shake Your Head" is a song by the band Was (Not Was). It was originally released in 1983 on the album Born to Laugh at Tornadoes.

The original version features legendary Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne on lead vocals. A pre-fame Madonna had auditioned for the vocal but was not used on the final release.

In 1992, it was rerecorded and remixed by house music producer Steve "Silk" Hurley, and features actress Kim Basinger alongside a re-recorded Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. Neither is credited on the single, but It appeared on the group's album, Hello Dad... I'm in Jail. Although the song did not chart in the US, it was the band's biggest commercial success across the Atlantic, reaching #4 in the UK charts.

There are actually two versions of the 1992 remake: The 3:48 version starts with Ozzy Osbourne singing "You can't feed the hungry, you can't talk Shakespeare to a monkey..." The 4:00 version starts with female vocals (presumably Kim Basinger) singing "You can't argue with death. You can't break a burly sailor's neck. You can't drink lava from plastic glasses..." There is also a Steve 'Silk' Hurley remix (5:32 duration).

The song's lyrics deal with things that cannot be done (some are outlandish, some can be done, but have a high amount of difficulty). After Basinger and Osbourne detail these things, the chorus comes in with the title hook.

In 2003, C. C. Catch covered "Shake Your Head" and released as single, which peaked at #8 in Norway.

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