"Sha-La-La-La-Lee" was the third song released by English R&B influenced group Small Faces on 28 January 1966 reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart.[1] It was also the first single by the group to feature Ian McLagan on keyboards.
Due to the UK Chart failure of the group's previous song release, the Marriott/Lane composition "I've Got Mine" Don Arden decided to bring in well-known songwriters Kenny Lynch and Mort Shuman to make sure the group's next single was a success, determined that Small Faces not be one hit wonders.[2]
The highly commercial sounding song proved a big hit and reached number three in the UK singles chart.[3] Despite the success of "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" the band never really liked the song and felt it did not represent their sound, which was more R&B and soul oriented.[4]
The song was seen by some as the beginning of the end for the Small Faces; it was following the release of this song that the group became often viewed in the music press as just anotherteenybopper band, who should not be taken as seriously as some of their contemporaries, such as The Who and Rolling Stones. Whereas previously their fans tended to be music-mad mods, their following now included young teenage girls who were more interested in the good looks of the young male musicians than in their music. At most of their concerts, like many of their contemporaries, the band could not even be heard above the girl fans' loud and constant screaming.[5] This situation would ultimately end in Marriott becoming so disenchanted that he would finally leave The Small Faces in a bid to be seen as a serious musician and form his next group, the heavier rock and blues-sounding Humble Pie.[6]
Small Faces performed "Sha-La-La-La-Lee" live for the Dick Clark show in the United States, telerecorded from the UK.[7]
Contents[]
B-Side[edit][]
The B-Side "Grow Your Own" written by the band, is much more in keeping with the Small Faces sound. The song is an instrumental recording and strongly influenced in style by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, of whom all the group were big fans. "Grow Your Own" heavily features Ian McLagan on the Hammond organ.[8]
Usage[edit][]
In Japan, "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", arranged to French pop style, was used for the advertisement of Suzuki Alto Lapin.[9]
Other recordings[edit][]
- Yugoslavian rock band Siluete covered this song with the title Tvoj rođendan in 1966.
- Czech singer Václav Neckář also did a cover version for this song in Czech in 1966.
- Evelyne Courtois, a French female singer of the 1960s, covered the song in 1966 as Ce N'est Pas Une Vie under her stage name Pussy Cat.
- Plastic Bertrand also did a cover version for this song in French in 1978.