Chan Romero obit

Billings native Chan Romero, who wrote 'The Hippy Hippy Shake', dies at 82

 

He was not on the list.

Chan Romero, a Billings, Montana native and rock 'n' roll singer best known for his original song "The Hippy Hippy Shake," had died, according to a post on his official Facebook page.

The post was made over the weekend and did not list a cause or date of death. He was living in southern California.

Romero, 82, was born in Billings in 1941 and graduated from Billings Senior. After high school, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles, where he wrote "The Hippy Hippy Shake".

That led to his signing with Del Fi Records, the same label that had signed Latino superstar Richie Valens. His song was later covered by the Beatles and other big bands.

“Elvis had a strong effect on me. It just took me over and I said this is what I want to do,” Romero told MTN News in 2023 in a video interview from his home in southern California.

Romero is also the first Latino to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

His father was of Spanish and Apache descent, while his mother was a mixture of Mexican, Cherokee, and Irish. Both had migrated to Montana during the Great Depression, seeking employment as migrant farm workers. The nickname "Chan" was bestowed on Romero by his grandfather. Since Romero often ran around without footwear, the nickname, from a Spanish phrase meaning "little boy with pig's feet" seemed appropriate.

Romero said Elvis Presley's 1956 performance of "Hound Dog" on The Steve Allen Show was a turning point in his life. He hitchhiked to East Los Angeles, California, in 1958 while still a teenager, where he wrote "Hippy Hippy Shake" and launched his career. An uncle introduced Romero and his music to an A&R representative from Specialty Records: Sonny Bono. Bono was particularly taken with a song called "My Little Ruby" and asked Romero to polish the song and to return in a few weeks. But since Romero needed to return to school in Montana, he never returned to Specialty.

Romero's career skyrocketed with the release of "Hippy Hippy Shake" in July 1959. Released first in North America and later in Australia and the UK, it soon came to the attention of Paul McCartney who liked the song and sang it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the Star Club in Hamburg during his early years with The Beatles. It also did well enough in Australia for Romero to do a tour there with Jerry Lee Lewis. The 1964 version by The Swinging Blue Jeans hit number one across Europe.