Here’s another Motown classic from Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops. Today’s classic song of the day is “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over); it was released in February of 1966 and went to #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
Like many of the Four Tops’ songs, “Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)” was written and produced by the team of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, otherwise known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or just HDH. These cats cranked out a ton of hits for Motown artists, including “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” and “Bernadette” for the Tops. They definitely had the magic touch.
Interestingly, Barbra Streisand of all people had a dance hit with a disco-fied version of “Shake Me, Wake Me” in 1975. Her version went to #14 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart and #10 on the Disco Singles chart. It’s okay for the times, but I much prefer the Four Tops original.
And here’s a daily bonus video of the day that’s a little bit different. It’s the Four Tops from a 1970 documentary for the BBC, rehearsing a group of backing musicians for their live performances. Yeah, man!
