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.
Queen Of The Hop
Shakin' Stevens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can keep your Miss Molly and your Mary Lou.
Can your prom do the chicken or doin' the bop?
I got a girl they call the queen of the hop.
[Chorus:]
Oh well I love my queen.
Do you know who I mean?
Yes, that's my queen.
Well, she wears short shorts and a rock 'n roll shoes.
You ought to see her dance to the yellow dog blues.
She's my sugar time baby, I'm her lollipop,
An' everybody knows I love my queen of de hop
[Chorus:]
Oh well she tunes in to Bandstand every day
To watch the kids dancin' 'cross the usa.
She don't care 'bout a thing 'ceptin rock 'n roll.
My baby drives me crazy when she does the stroll. Yeah
Well she tunes in to Bandstand every day
To watch the kids dancin' 'cross the usa.
She don't care 'bout a thing 'ceptin' rock and roll.
My baby drives me crazy when she does the stroll.
[Chorus:]
Well, that's my queen.
Yes, that's my queen.
Oh, well that's my queen.
Yes, that's my queen.
The song "Queen of the Hop" by Shakin' Stevens is a tribute to a girl he loves and admires as a dancer - the queen of the hop. The lyrics are a tongue-in-cheek ode to this girl who outshines all the other girls in every way possible. The opening lines "You can talk about your Julie and your Peggy Sue, You can keep Miss Molly and your Mary Lou," suggest that the singer has heard comparisons to other girls but he's not impressed. He goes on to say that his girl is the best because she can do the chicken and the bop - two popular dance styles in that era.
The chorus is a catchy and memorable repetitive phrase, "Well I love my queen. Do you know who I mean? Sweet little sixteen, Yes, that's my queen." The singer is besotted with the girl, and he clarifies that she is sweet sixteen years old, emphasizing her youth and beauty. The second verse talks about how she dresses - short shorts and rock 'n roll shoes - and how she dances to the yellow dog blues. The final verse explains how she tunes into Bandstand every day to watch the kids dancing across the USA, and how she only cares about rock 'n roll. The singer is clearly smitten with this girl who lives and breathes rock 'n roll and is lost without it.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, you can talk about your Julie and your Peggy Sue.
There may be other beautiful women out there, but I have my own preference.
You can keep your Miss Molly and your Mary Lou.
I don't need anyone else, and I'm not interested in any other type of girl.
Can your prom do the chicken or doin' the bop?
My girl is the best dancer around and she can do all types of dances.
I got a girl they call the queen of the hop.
I have a wonderful girlfriend who is known as the best dancer in town.
[Chorus:] Oh well I love my queen. Do you know who I mean? Sweet little sixteen Yes, that's my queen.
I am very passionate about my girlfriend who I'm referring to as 'the queen of the hop' and who is only sixteen years old.
Well, she wears short shorts and a rock 'n roll shoes.
My girlfriend knows how to dress for the occasion and looks stunning in short shorts and rock and roll shoes.
You ought to see her dance to the yellow dog blues.
Her dance moves are so amazing that you have to see them to believe them.
She's my sugar time baby, I'm her lollipop,
We are the perfect match for each other, just like sugar and candy.
An' everybody knows I love my queen of de hop.
People in town are aware that we are a couple and that I adore her.
[Chorus:] Oh well she tunes in to Bandstand every day To watch the kids dancin' 'cross the usa.
My girlfriend has a passion for dancing and loves to watch other people dance on the popular TV show Bandstand.
She don't care 'bout a thing 'ceptin' rock and roll.
My girlfriend is only interested in dance and music, particularly rock and roll.
My baby drives me crazy when she does the stroll. Yeah
Whenever my girlfriend performs the stroll dance, it completely mesmerizes me and I can't keep my eyes off of her.
[Chorus:] Well, that's my queen. Yes, that's my queen. Oh, well that's my queen. Yes, that's my queen.
I am very proud to have her as my girlfriend and I'm not afraid to show it to the world.
Contributed by William V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.