Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop

 

From "Honkers and Shouters", book by Arnold Shaw [edited]:

That fateful day in November 1959, Alan Freed dismissed by WABC for refusing to sign an affidavit that he had never receiving payola, announced during the playing of "Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko bop" that he was going off the air.

It was a fateful day, not only for Freed, but for R&B. By then the airwaves were full of young sounds, black as well as white. But the payola scandal temporarily had greater impact on black "indie" stations as well as black artists.

Surprisingly (or not), there were not so many covers of this Little Anthony & The Imperials hit. Here are several versions from various countries. It seems that the song was originally recorded by The El Capris in 1956 (Bullseye Records), but the lyrics are different and the music quite not the same.

Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko Bop

Chicago Line - Shimmy Shimmy Ko-Ko bop.mp3                              
Dick Kerr and The Sing-Along Teen-Agers-Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop.mp3   
Jane Swärd - Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop (Swede) .mp3                                
Los Yetis - Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop (Columbia).mp3                                 
Maya Casabianca -- Chéri chéri je reviens (France).mp3                  
The Idolls - Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop.mp3                                
The Latin Quarters - Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop.mp3                        
The Rosalyns - Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop.mp3                              
The Wild Ones - Shimmey Shimmey Ko Ko Pop.mp3                           
Rock Ready and the Raves -  Jimmy Jimmy Coco Nut (Germany) .mp3                   
The Reasons -Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop (Thailand).mp3