Shake a Tail Feather

Not to be confused with Shake Ya Tailfeather.

"Shake a Tail Feather" is a song written by Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice, and Andre Williams and originally recorded in 1963 by the Chicago-based group the Five Du-Tones.^[2] The original recording reached number 28 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart and number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[3]

"Shake a Tail Feather"
Single by the Five Du-Tones
Released	1963
Recorded	1963
Genre	R&B[1] garage rock[1]
Length	2:24
Label	One-DERFUL!
Songwriter(s)	Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice, Andre Williams

Background

The song references a number of dance styles/moves, including the Boogaloo, The Twist, The fly, The Bird, Monkey, the Mashed Potato, the duck, the swim, the Boney Maroney, and the Watusi.

Notable cover versions

"Shake a Tail Feather" has been covered by many other artists over the years:

• A 1967 version by James & Bobby Purify reached number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[4]
• Ike & Tina Turner recorded their version in 1968 for their album So Fine. It is also performed in the movie about their lives, What's Love Got To Do With It.
• Ray Charles covered and performed the song during his scenes in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers where he was surrounded by dancers performing the move referenced in the song while he played a piano and sang.