All Shook Up was the top song of 1957, and Elvis Presley’s second biggest hit ever. He’s backed here by the Jordanaires, and he’s on guitar and percussion at the same time. That sound right there? That’s Elvis slapping on the back of his Martin D-28.
It’s believed manager Colonel Parker had something to do with getting the King a cowriting credit on this one. Popular belief cites Otis Blackwell as the true author, on a challenge from a friend who witnessed him shaking a bottle of Pepsi. Presley himself had this to say in an interview that year: “I’ve never even had an idea for a song. Just once, maybe. I went to bed one night, had quite a dream, and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song, ‘All Shook Up’.”
Image: Uncredited, Elvis performing live at the Mississippi-Alabama Fairgrounds in Tupelo, Mississippi, September 26, 1956. This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 and although there may or may not have been a copyright notice, the copyright was not renewed