Question: Did Jerry Lee Lewis really record "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" in one take?
Answer: Yes, he did. Jerry's touring band, whom he was working with in the Sun Studios, had been working out an arrangement of this number -- a big hit for Big Maybelle -- for months on the road. Sam Phillips' engineer, Jack Clement, had been working with Lewis on his sessions, and Jack had written a number about reincarnation for Jerry Lee entitled "It'll Be Me." The band knocked it out in about six takes, and then, as was the practice in those days, everyone began considering what might work as a b-side. Bass player J.W. Brown suggested they play "Shakin'" again, the way they had on stage, since it was fast becoming a highlight of the live show. Clement turned the tape on, and the rest is history. (You can hear the band drop a bar or two at the beginning of Jerry Lee's solo, but Sun always valued emotion over technical perfection.)
