"Harlem Shuffle" is an
R&B song written and originally recorded by the duo
Bob & Earl in 1963. The song describes a dance called the “Harlem Shuffle”, and mentions several other contemporary dances of the early 1960s, including the
Monkey Shine, the
Limbo, the
Hitch hike, the Slide, and the
Pony.
The original single, arranged by
Gene Page, peaked at No. 44 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 36 on the Cash Box chart. The record was a commercial failure when first released in the UK in 1963, but on reissue in 1969 peaked at No. 7.[2] It was released on Marc Records, a subsidiary of Titan Records.
Barry White stated in a 1995 interview with the Boston Herald that, despite some claims to the contrary, he had no involvement with "Harlem Shuffle", though Page and White later worked extensively together.[3][4]
In 2003, the original Bob & Earl version of the song was ranked No. 23 by the music critics of The Daily Telegraph on their list of the "50 Best Duets Ever".[5] The song was used in the 1989 comedy-drama film Shag and the 2017
Edgar Wright-directed film Baby Driver.[6]
The Rolling Stones' cover version, with
Bobby Womack on backing vocals, appeared on their 1986 album Dirty Work. It went to number 5 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 13 in the United Kingdom, and number 1 in New Zealand.
Keith Richards had been looking for songs to possibly include on the album and had been working up songs with
Ronnie Wood and Womack while waiting for Jagger to return to the studio in
Paris after doing promo work on his solo album. To Richards' surprise, Jagger liked the feel and cut the vocals quickly. It became the first
cover song the Stones had released as an opening single off a new studio album since 1965. It opens with:
You move it to the left and you go for yourself
You move it to the right yeah if it takes all night
Now take it kinda slow with a whole lot of soul.
In 1986, a 12" extended single mix of the song was released. One side contained the "London Mix" and ran 6:19. The other side had a "New York Mix" and ran 6:35. Both mixes were variations of the 7" mix. The "New York Mix" is available on the CD, Rarities 1971–2003, although it has been edited to 5:48. Both full-length 12" versions can be found on Disc 25 of Singles 1971–2006.
A version by
The Traits from the fall of 1966 reached number 94 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 91 on Cash Box.
The Action recorded the song in 1968 and released it as a single in Germany.
^Ken Tucker (April 6, 1986).
"R&B Gets The Superstar Treatment". Philadelphia Daily News. Retrieved June 28, 2013. "The Stones raise the rhythm-and-blues issue explicitly on "Harlem Shuffle," the first single to be released from Dirty Work. (...) Mick Jagger smears the lyrics with lascivious glee, while the rest of the band attempts to turn the tune into a hip dance-rock number."