Song first recorded by Elmore James in

For the Black Crowes album, see Shake Your Money Maker (album).

single by Elmore James

"Shake Your Moneymaker" or "Shake Your Money Maker" is a song recorded by Elmore James in that has become a blues standard.^[1] Inspired by earlier songs, it has been interpreted and recorded by several blues and other artists.

"Shake Your Moneymaker" is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of the " Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" and in , the Blues Foundation inducted it into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording".

Earlier songs[edit]

In , Chicago blues singer and harmonica player Shakey Jake Harris recorded "Roll Your Moneymaker" with a band including Magic Sam on guitar and Willie Dixon on bass.^[2] The song, a twelve-bar blues with breaks, featured the chorus "roll your moneymaker". Elmore James biographer Steve Franz notes, "Chicago blues lore [has it that] drummer/vocalist James Bannister was the author of a tune known as 'Roll Your Moneymaker', but never recorded it" (Bannister had played with J. T. Brown and Magic Sam).^[3] He adds that the rhythm guitar figure in James' "Shake Your Moneymaker" was inspired by "Got the Blues Can't Be Satisfied", recorded by Mississippi John Hurt in ^[4][3]

Blues historian Gerard Herzhaft suggests that "Shake Your Moneymaker" is a variation on songs that have been traced back to Charlie Patton ( "Shake It and Break It"^[5]) and Bukka White ( "Shake 'Em on Down"^[6]).^[1] However, the song has been also identified as an Elmore James "original".^[7]

Elmore James song[edit]

"Shake Your Moneymaker" is an up-tempo bar blues featuring slide guitar. James frequently repeats the phrase "shake your money maker" throughout the song, but provides little context for the lyrics. The tune became one of James' most well-known songs and a popular dance number. Activist and author James Meredith described witnessing James "working the crowd into a frenzy at Mr. P's, a humble Mississippi juke joint" with the song.^[8] Franz adds "Sometimes the band would play it for thirty minutes or longer without stopping, and the crowd would continue to beg for more when it was over".^[3]

James recorded the song at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studios in New Orleans, Louisiana during a "candlelight" or non-union session in the summer of ^[3] According to drummer and harp player Sam Myers, James was having problems with the union, so the session took place at night with the lights dimmed so as not to attract the attention of the musician's local.^[3] James had assembled a Mississippi version of his backing band, the Broomdusters, for the recordings: Johnny "Big Moose" Walker on piano, Sammy Lee Bully on bass, and King Mose Taylor on drums. After one false start, the second take provided the master used for the single. Although several songs were recorded during the session, only "Shake Your Moneymaker", together with "Look on Yonder Wall", was released at the time.

Recognition and legacy[edit]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Shake Your Moneymaker" on its list of the " Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".^[9] In , the Blues Foundation inducted "Shake Your Moneymaker" into the Blues Hall of Fame as a "Classic of Blues Recording". The induction statement describes it as "an exuberant, uptempo departure from slide guitar master Elmore James' deep blues recordings" and notes its popularity among rock musicians, including Fleetwood Mac (, Fleetwood Mac), George Thorogood (, Born to Be Bad), the Black Crowes with Jimmy Page (, Live at the Greek), and Rod Stewart (, Time).^[10] The Black Crowes named their debut album after the song.^[11]

Notes[edit]

 THE BLACK CROWES PRESENT:

&#;Shake Your Money Maker&#;

30th Anniversary, Multi-Format Re-issue Of Legendary Album

PREORDER HERE

The Super Deluxe box set features the original studio album remastered by George Drakoulias, 3 previously unheard studio recordings, 2 unreleased demos from Mr. Crowe’s Garden, a 14 track full unreleased concert from Atlanta, GA, in , reproductions of an early Mr. Crowe’s Garden show flyer, set list, tour laminate, patch, and a 20 page book with unseen photos from the band’s personal archives and liner notes by David Fricke.

Available on 4LP Super Deluxe, 3CD Super Deluxe, 2CD, Standard CD & LP, streaming and download. Out February 26 on UMe/American Recordings.

A limited number of super deluxe formats purchased through the official artist store feature a signed photo print.

PLUS listen to the recently unearthed track &#;Charming Mess.&#; HERE

It was the turn of the decade and the rock world needed something fresh to break through the glut of highly produced hair metal / hard rock that was flooding the airwaves. Though grunge would eventually be the force to overturn rock radio as we knew it a year later, The Black Crowes eventually became the breakout band in that started to show there was finally a fresh appetizer on the menu.

This strong five-piece rock band emerged as a force with their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker &#x; a record that embraced early era rock's soulful R&B influences while bringing back a Rolling Stones-esque swagger for a new generation.

The group started six years earlier with brothers Chris and Rich Robinson forming Mr. Crowe's Garden in while still teenagers. The group went through a series of other members in the years leading up to settling on a lineup that would eventually playing on Money Maker and the changes didn't stop after the album was recorded. Guitarist Jeff Cease played on the record, but eventually gave way to Marc Ford who would handle duties on their second record. Johnny Colt played bass on four albums, while drummer Steve Gorman was the other constant through the band's entire first era prior to their reunion.

The early years provided some challenges with a still underage Rich Robinson having to hide out in the car at times before being allowed to come into clubs to play the shows. But eventually George Drakoulias, a staffer at Rick Rubin's Def American label, caught the group playing a New York show and was so impressed that he not only helped to get them their label deal with Def American, he also stepped in to produce Shake Your Money Maker.

Splitting time between Atlanta's Soundscape Studios and three different studios in Los Angeles, the now newly renamed Black Crowes laid out their bluesy yet Southern rock inspired record throughout the course of Speaking of the name change, Chris Robinson told Q Magazine, "We were really into the Dream Syndicate, the Rain Parade, Green on Red &#x; all those Paisley Underground bands, so we wanted a psychedelic name. When we changed, we kept the Crowes because that's what people called us anyway."

The sessions also provided some stellar assistance, with The Allman Brothers' Chuck Leavell helping out on piano and organ, noted backing singer Laura Creamer helping to accentuate some of the record's chicken skin-raising moments and a young engineer named Brendan O'Brien chipping in on "a potpourri of instruments."

The Shake Your Money Maker album arrived Feb. 13, , but it wasn't an instant hit. "Jealous Again" was the first song released from the record, but it didn't catch fire immediately. Though the song's muscular opening riffs and killer piano backing are fan favorites now, it was a slow build until the track eventually climbed to No. 5 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and enjoyed a bit of crossover hitting No. 75 on Billboard's Hot

However, people did take notice, picking out influences ranging from '70s-era Rolling Stones to making their Georgia connection to Southern Rock roots. What Southern rock became is not what the Allmans started out to be. They were creating a new Southern sound. And what we do now is what I&#x;d like Southern rock to become," Chris Robinson told Rolling Stone, adding, But there is a lot of the South in us. I don&#x;t know exactly what it is. Maybe it&#x;s just that we&#x;re a little closer to the ground. We have no pretensions about what we do. We&#x;re just a little earthier. We do things a little slower, more casual.

Black Crowes, "Jealous Again"

The second single, a cover of Otis Redding's soul classic "Hard to Handle," was the song that helped the group really start to see things take off. Drakoulias in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution recalled pushing for a cover on the record. "I thought we should do a cover (on the album), and I think Chris came up with 'Hard to Handle.' I think he was kind of reluctant to doing Otis (Redding) and I said, 'We&#x;ll make it into a rock thing.' I was reading the review (of the album) in Spin magazine and they quoted the song and said, 'Pure poetry from Chris Robinson.' (Laughs) We had an opportunity to expose kids to Otis and this amazing song and put this music out in the world."

Indeed, "Hard to Handle" was a rocked up version of the Otis original &#x; an easily memorable guitar line, an undeniable beat and Robinson's hoarse but swagger-filled delivery that made listeners want to heed the calling of the album's title. The song topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and became their first Top 40 hit climbing to No. 26 on the Hot

Black Crowes, "Hard to Handle"

Keeping the rocking momentum going, "Twice as Hard" came next. The bluesy bend of the guitars and Chris Robinson's powerful belting provided more of an anthemic track for the band. Though not as big as its predecessor, "Twice as Hard" would hit No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks Chart and would be the last harder rocking single from the record.

The Black Crowes, "Twice as Hard"

While Black Crowes were starting to hit their stride with the listening audience, there were some critical of the group mining familiar territory, but that didn't bother Chris Robinson any.

What is original?" the singer remarked to Rolling Stone. I&#x;m not going to bang two badger carcasses together and recite poetry and say, &#x;Hey, here&#x;s the new thing.&#x; We sing a traditional type of music in a very untraditional way. It&#x;s country music, and blues and R&B and other things. It&#x;s ethnic music. That&#x;s what we do.

Still, after a trio of bluesy rock bangers to make listeners stand up and take notice, the group showed their softer side, digging into their teen years output and finally sharing the acoustic guitar-leaning and soulful "She Talks to Angels" with the masses.

While the song deals with a darker theme of drug use, it was penned during a period when the Robinson brothers had yet to really experiment with their future excesses. "'She Talks to Angels' is about a girl I kind of knew in Atlanta who was a goth girl who was into heroin, so I made up a story about what if that was your girl," said Chris Robinson in their Croweology video series. "I didn&#x;t really know about that stuff except from afar at that time, which is probably why that song has a sincere relationship to a dark subject.

Indeed the song was able to connect. The video became an MTV hit and song inspired many fans to sing along to the heartfelt aches dripping from Robinson's voice. "She Talks to Angels" became their second chart-topper on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, hit No. 30 on Billboard's Hot and opened the door for the band to a lot of new avenues, especially with acoustic "unplugged"-type material really finding popularity at the time.

Black Crowes, "She Talks to Angels"

The band would release one more single, the heartbreak-inducing "Seeing Things" before concluding their radio promotion, but in all honesty they could've gone even further down the rabbit hole with killer tracks such as "Sister Luck" and "Could I've Been So Blind" still remaining favorites in the catalog despite never being issued as singles.

By the time all was said and done, Shake Your Money Maker had hit No. 4 on the Billboard Album Chart, but more importantly, it had provided a different voice in the rock world.

Sometimes I feel like we&#x;re carrying the flag, Chris Robinson declared in a Rolling Stone interview. One part of it is, we were in the right place at the right time for our thing. But here&#x;s a band that people check out on MTV or in Rolling Stone and realize: &#x;Yeah, they say what they really wanna say and play what they really wanna. What a novel concept! That rock 'n' roll can be interesting and feel good and be a real living, breathing animal Then again, maybe it&#x;s just that we play some songs and people like &#x;em.

In the years since its release, Shake Your Money Maker has been certified five times platinum, so yeah, people "liked 'em."

Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the &#;90s

 THE BLACK CROWES PRESENT:

&#;Shake Your Money Maker&#;

30th Anniversary, Multi-Format Re-issue Of Legendary Album

PREORDER HERE

The Super Deluxe box set features the original studio album remastered by George Drakoulias, 3 previously unheard studio recordings, 2 unreleased demos from Mr. Crowe’s Garden, a 14 track full unreleased concert from Atlanta, GA, inreproductions of an early Mr, shake your money maker. Crowe’s Garden show flyer, set list, tour laminate, patch, and a 20 page book with unseen photos from the band’s personal archives and liner notes by David Fricke.

Available on 4LP Super Deluxe, 3CD Super Deluxe, 2CD, Standard CD & LP, streaming and download. Out February 26 on UMe/American Recordings.

A limited number of super deluxe formats purchased through the official artist store feature a signed photo print.

PLUS listen to the recently unearthed track &#;Charming Mess.&#; HERE

For the song, see Shake Your Moneymaker (song).

studio album by the Black Crowes

Shake Your Money Maker (also stylized as The Black Crowes Present: $hake Your Money Maker^[2]) is the debut studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes, released on February 13, on Def American Recordings. It is the only album by the band to feature guitarist Jeff Cease. The album is named after a classic blues song written by Elmore James. The Black Crowes have played the song live many times over the years, but it is not included on this album.

Shake Your Money Maker peaked at No. 4 on the Billboardand two of its singles, "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels", reached No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Jealous Again", "Twice As Hard" and "Seeing Things" were also charting singles in the United States. Shake Your Money Maker is the Black Crowes' best selling album, having sold more than 5 million copies.^[3]

On January 8, shake your money maker,the Black Crowes announced that a 30th anniversary edition of the album would be released on February 26,containing the original album remastered in addition to three previously unreleased songs, shake your money maker, outtakes, two demos from the Mr. Crowe's Garden era, and a live performance set recorded in at Center Stage in Atlanta. Previously unreleased track "Charming Mess" was released on the same day as the announcement.^[4]

Background and production[edit]

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson had formed Mr. Crowe's Garden in ^[5] In George Drakoulias saw the band at a show they did in New York City and had them signed to Def American the same year; they changed their name shake your money maker the Black Crowes shortly after.^[6]

The recording sessions began in the summer of in Atlanta and Los Angeles, with Drakoulias producing the album, shake your money maker. Some tracks include retained songs from the Mr. Crowe's Garden era such as "Could I've Been So Blind" and "She Talks to Angels", whose riff had been written years ago by then year old Rich Robinson^[7] with lyrics written by Chris, which were inspired by a heroin-addicted girl he "kinda knew" in Atlanta.^[8] The band also chose to record a cover version of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle", which would prove to be their breakthrough single.^[9]

Four music videos for "Twice As Hard", shake your money maker, "Jealous Again", "Hard to Handle" and "She Talks to Angels" were filmed to promote the band and the album,^[10] and subsequently aired on MTV.

Release and reception[edit]

When the album came out in Februarycritical reception was mostly favorable. Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, and its readers and critics voted the Black Crowes "Best New American Band" in ;^[16] the band appeared on the cover of the magazine's th issue (May ) following their firing from the ZZ Top tour in March that year. The issue's interview of Chris and Rich Robinson compared the band to s acts, with journalist David Fricke explicitly citing Faces and The Rolling Stones and Rich Robinson mentioning Aerosmith.^[17]AllMusic gave the album four out of five shake your money maker, praising Rich Robinson's guitar playing and Chris Robinson's "appropriate vocal swagger".^[1]Entertainment Weekly gave it a Shake your money maker and stated, "The Black Crowes are to the early Rolling Stones what Christian Slater is to the young Jack Nicholson: a self-conscious imitation, but fine enough in its own right. Authentic bluesmen these Crowes will never be, but their sheer energy earns 'em the right to trash it up."^[13]

"Hard to Handle", "Jealous Again" and "Twice As Hard" broke into the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, respectively reaching the first, fifth and eleventh position. By the end of the year, Shake Your Money Maker had sold one million copies^{[citation needed]} and eventually sold two million more,^[5] thus receiving triple platinum certification. In"She Talks to Angels" and "Seeing Things" respectively reached the first and second position of the Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Chris and Rich Robinson, except those with *, which are by Allen Jones, Al Bell and Otis Redding.

30th Anniversary Edition[edit]

Notes

• "Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan" follows the bonus tracks on the reissue of the album.
• "Live Too Fast Blues/Mercy, Sweet Moan" does not appear on digital or streaming versions of the original album, thus cutting the track listing down to 10 songs.
• The bonus tracks were originally part of the recording sessions at Soundscape Studios in Atlanta.^[19]

Personnel[edit]

The Black Crowes

Additional personnel

Production

• George Drakoulias&#;– producer
• Rick Rubin&#;– executive producer (credited on the sleeve only after the album became successful)^[20]
• Pete Angelus&#;– personal manager
• Dave Bianco – remixing on "Twice As Hard"
• Alan Forbes&#;– artwork, art direction, design
• Greg Fulginiti – mastering
• Tag George&#;– assistant engineer
• Michael Lavine&#;– photography
• Ruth Leitman&#;– photography, cover photo
• Lee Manning&#;– assistant engineer, mixing, mixing engineer
• Brendan O'Brien&#;– engineer, mixing
• Leon Zervos&#;– mastering

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

References[edit]