He began his career fronting the group Shakin' Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by Paul Barrett. Also known as the The Sunsets, the 50s-esque rock n roll outfit originaled from Penarth, South Glamorgan. An early break for the band arrived when they were given a support slot for The Rolling Stones in December 1969. Yet, despite landing a recording contract with the seminal label Parlophone Records the following year, the band found success hard to come by. At least in their native Great Britain, they couldn't quite break through commercially, though they had hit singles in other countries. After seven years of constant touring and recording, Shaky left the band in 1977. He gained a lead role in Jack Good's "Elvis!" musical, which brought him praise from many critics.
Regular TV appearances on the revamped TV show Oh Boy led eventually to his first chart success, a reworked version of a Buck Owens song "Hot Dog", which Owens would go on to re-record using Stevens arrangement which had been created by pedal steel guitar player B.J. Cole.
In 1979, Shaky signed what was to be his most successful management deal with Freya Miller, and in 1981, he had his first UK number 1 with "This Ole House" and would have 10 more songs reach the top 5, including three number 1 hits with "Green Door", "Oh Julie" and "Merry Christmas Everyone", while "You Drive Me Crazy" and "A Love Worth Waiting For" reached number 2 in 1981 and 1984 respectively. His 1984 hit "Teardrops" featured Hank B. Marvin on guitar and Stevens has often featured famous musicians such as Albert Lee, Roger Taylor, Bonnie Tyler and more recently Tony Joe White on his recordings. In the mid 80s, Stevens reunited with former producer Dave Edmunds to record an album Lipstick, Powder and Paint and the Christmas smash "Merry Christmas Everyone".
The hits continued throughout the 1980s, making Stevens the biggest selling artist of the decade, and into the early 1990s. Chart successes also included his album Shaky reaching number 1.
It was in the 1990s, however, that Stevens took a lengthy break from recording and was stung by a court ruling requiring a substantial payout to former bandmates The Sunsets. In 1999, Shaky returned to performing and undertook tours that year and the year following. In 2004, things started to look up for Stevens he had a further platinum CD/DVD album in Denmark and a gold album in South Africa.
In 2005, he returned once again to the charts in the United Kingdom, with his greatest hits album The Collection, which reached the UK top 5. That year, he also appeared in the video to Tony Christie's and Peter Kay's #1 hit single "Is This the Way to Amarillo", alongside many other UK stars, including Ronnie Corbett, Jim Bowen, Michael Parkinson and Geoffrey Hayes. He was the winner on the reality television show, Hit Me Baby One More Time. This was quickly followed by a re-release of his cover and his own biggest hit sung in the show, ("Trouble" covering Pink's version) / "This Ole House"), which reached #20 on the UK Singles Chart in June 2005, his 33rd Top 40 hit in the United Kingdom.
In May 2007, Stevens released a brand new album in Denmark entitled Now Listen.
Que Sera Sera
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I asked my mother what will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here's what she said to me
Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
Que sera sera
When I was just a child in school
I asked my teacher what should I try
Should I paint pictures
Should I sing songs
This was her wise reply
Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera
When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will there be rainbows day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said
Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera
What will be, will be
Que sera sera...
The song "Que Sera Sera" by Shakin' Stevens is a classic that has been a popular choice of generations for different occasions, including weddings and graduations. The song comprises three stanzas, in which the persona narrates her experiences in different stages of her life, as a child, a teenager, and an adult. In the first verse, she asks her mother about her future and whether she will be pretty or rich, to which her mother gives her a classic answer that "whatever will be, will be." The second stanza features the persona's inquiries to her teacher about the different paths to take in life, and the teacher's reply that they should just go with the flow, and everything will eventually fall into place. The third and final stanza features the persona's questions about her future with her lover, and they both seem to agree that the future is not certain and that they should just live in the moment.
Overall, the song is about the theme of acceptance of the unknown future and going with the flow. The refrain "Que Sera Sera" means "whatever will be will be," and emphasizes the idea that we cannot control our destinies, and rather than worrying about the future and the things we cannot change, we should live in the moment and enjoy life.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was just a little girl
When I was a young girl
I asked my mother what will I be
I inquired of my mother regarding my future self
Will I be pretty
Will my physical appearance be attractive
Will I be rich
Will I have a lot of wealth
Here's what she said to me
This is what she told me
Que sera sera
Whatever will be, will be
Whatever will be will be
Things will happen as they are meant to happen
The future's not ours to see
We cannot predict what will occur in the future
When I was just a child in school
When I was a young student
I asked my teacher what should I try
I sought guidance from my teacher regarding my interests
Should I paint pictures
Should I create art
Should I sing songs
Should I perform music
This was her wise reply
This is the advice she gave me
When I grew up and fell in love
When I became an adult and began a romantic relationship
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
I asked my significant other about our future together
Will there be rainbows day after day
Will life be happy and carefree
Here's what my sweetheart said
This is the response I received
What will be, will be
The future is uncertain and cannot be controlled
Que sera sera...
Whatever will be, will be...
Contributed by Grace T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.