Dave “Curlee” Williams was a songwriter credited as the co-writer of the rockabilly classic “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On“, along with Roy Hall. However, the details of his life and career remain somewhat obscure.
Williams was a club performer and songwriter, and it’s believed that he wrote the song in the early 1950s. The earliest known recording of the song was made in 1955 by Big Maybelle, produced by Quincy Jones. However, it was Jerry Lee Lewis’ 1957 version that turned it into a rock and roll standard, becoming one of the defining hits of the era.
Roy Hall, a honky-tonk pianist and singer, later claimed that he had a hand in writing the song as well, and his name appears alongside Williams’ in the songwriting credits. Hall’s assertions have been met with some skepticism, but he was known to have performed the song before Lewis made it famous.
There is little biographical information available on Dave “Curlee” Williams, and much of his role in the song’s creation remains debated.
According to Mark Lewisohn in “The Complete Beatles Chronicle“, The Beatles – first as The Quarrymen –performed “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” regularly between 1957 and 1962.
Songs written or co-written by Dave "Curlee" Williams
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Unreleased song
