Shake A Tail Feather | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
| D7 | D7 | G7 | D7 | A5 |
Verse 1 (Fender Roades only)
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) | D5 (D6) | G (G6) |
Well, I heard about the fellow you’ve been dancin’ with, all over the neighborhood.
| D5 (D6) | Bm (Bm7) | E (E7) | A (A7) |
So why didn’t you ask me, baby? Didn’t you think I could?
Verse 2 (Band in)
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) | D5 (D6) | G (G6) |
Well, I know that the boogaloo is outta sight. But to shake a leisure thing tonight.
| D5 (D6) | Bm7 (Bm) | E7 (E) |
Would it happen to me and you baby? I want to show you how to do it right.
Pre-chorus 1
| A5 | A5 | A | A | A | A | A7 | A7 | A (lick) | A (lick) |
Do it right. Uh-huh. Do it right. Do it right, do it right, do it right, do it right! Uhhh!
Chorus 1
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) | D5 (D6) | A |
Twist it! Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby!
| G | G | D | D | G | G |
Here we go loop di loo! Shake it out, baby! Here we go loop di lie!
Pre-chorus 2
| A5 | A5 |
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather.
| A | A |
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather.
| A | A |
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather. Uh!
| A7 | A7 | A (lick) | A (lick) |
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather. Uh!
Chorus 2 (as chorus 1)
Twist it! Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, baby!
Here we go loop di loo! Shake it out, baby! Here we go loop di lie!
Pre-chorus 3 (as pre-chorus 2)
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather.
Bend over, let me see you shake your tail feather.
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather. Uh!
Come on, let me see you shake your tail feather. Uh!
Outro
||: D5 (D6) | G (G6) :||
Come on! Come on babe!
Come on! Yeah, come on babe! Alright!
Do the twist! Do the fly! Do the swim! (Ha! Ha! Ha!)
And do the bird! (Oh!) Do the duck!
(Ah!) Do the monkey!
(Hey! Hey!) Watootsie!
And the… what about the food?
Do the mashed potato! What about the boogaloo?
The Boney Muroney! Come on let’s do the twist!
| A5 | A5 |
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
End
||: D5 (D6) | G (G6) :|| to fade
Twist it! Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it baby!
(Oh!) Twist it! Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it baby!
Shake a Tail Feather’s Chords: A Guitarist’s Guide
Primarily played on the electric piano, Shake a Tail Feather can be approached in different ways on guitar, depending on whether a keyboard player is present at the gig.
I’ve designed some TAB arrangements to cover both situations, including how to play the intro keyboard part on guitar. Here’s a link: Shake a Tail Feather – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
The Chords
The verse revolves around a I – IV progression, using the honky-tonk rhythm popularised by Chuck Berry. To keep things clear, I’ve marked the 6-chord in brackets instead of repeating it with every instance of the lyrics.
After the honky-tonk section, the progression moves to VI – IIx – V, like this:
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) | D5 (D6) | G (G6) |
| D5 (D6) | Bm (Bm7) | E (E7) | A (A7) |
Verse 2 ends early, transitioning into the A chord and pre-chorus, similar to Twist & Shout.
Pre-Chorus
The key feature here is a root – 3rd – 5th – b7 lick, which is best understood with TAB. If reading chord names alone, it looks like this:
| A5 | A5 | A | A |
| A | A | A7 | A7 |
| A lick | A lick |
The last two bars use the three-against-four rhythm lick made famous by T-Bone Walker.
Chorus
The chorus follows a similar honky-tonk approach over D6 – G6, moving to A earlier before stripping the honky-tonk feel, alternating between D and G:
| D5 (D6) | G (G6) | D5 (D6) | A |
| G | G | D | D | G | G |
| A5 | A5 | A | A |
| A | A | A7 | A7 | A lick | A lick |
The outro fades out with the honky-tonk feel returning.
Mastering the Groove
Just looking at the chords isn’t enough—these changes need the right rhythmic feel. To develop this, play along with the original recording and compare similar honky-tonk grooves in songs like:
- I Can’t Stand the Rain – Ann Peebles
- Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
- You Never Can Tell – Chuck Berry
- Nutbush City Limits – Tina Turner
- Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
Once you’ve got the feel down (with help from the TAB), this chord chart will be a great reference.
Shake A Tail Feather Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Shake A Tail Feather chord chart PDF.
This chart was created using iRealPro, here’s a link to that file: Shake A Tail Feather chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Shake A Tailfeather is a modern standard!
Ray Charles‘ Shake a Tail Feather became widely known in 1980 when it was featured in the iconic Blues Brothers film.
Before Ray made it his own, Ike and Tina Turner recorded a version in 1968, but the song dates back even further to 1963, originally performed by The Five Du-Tones.
This is one of those tunes that has become a staple of function bands and wedding circuits, largely thanks to its built-in dance craze.
Successful working bands understand one key thing—audiences love to participate. Shake a Tail Feather is perfect for this, with lyrics that call out different dance moves like the boogaloo, the twist, and, of course, shaking that tail feather!
Shake A Tail Feather Chords: Continue Learning
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: Shake A Tail Feather (Ray Charles) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: