Anyone who remembers the jaunty hit single, This Ole House, released by Shakin’ Stevens in 1981, may be surprised to learn it’s a rather melancholy song, underneath the pulsating rock ‘n’ roll beat. To add to that, it was also a cover song written by American “singing cowboy” Stuart Hamblen in 1954. The Texas-born artist who hosted the radio show, Family Album, in the 1930s and who also acted in cowboy films, had written This Ole House based on a true story.

Hamblen released This Ole House in 1954, after feeling inspired to write the rather sad song during a fishing trip with his friends in a remote area. It saddened him when they came across an old empty house that had fallen into a tatty state. Following the owner’s death, the house had been allowed to crumble, with the happy family life that once took place there being nothing but a distant memory. After the fishing trip, Hamblen wrote how the house had once provided “comfort as we fought the storms of life.” The narrator remembers how “this old house once rang with laughter”, but now it “lets in the rain” and is “gettin’ shaky.”

While Welsh crooner Shakin’ Stevens sang it with a smile on his face as he gyrated through his familiar raunchy dance moves, the lyrics told a different story, bemoaning the fact that a once happy, lively house had fallen into disrepair after its owner’s death. Hamblen’s version of the song offered more of a country music slant, rather than the rock ‘n’ roll version that Stevens released.

Stevens was a major player in the rockabilly revival in the UK, but in the USA he wasn’t the big name he wanted to be. The jacket photos for this UK release mirrors that of the USA release of "Get Shakin".

While the album was initially titled Marie Marie, however a later single This Old House became a much bigger hit, peaking at No. 1 for three weeks in March 1981. The album was quickly re-issued with the same cover, but now under the title ‘This Ole House’. It peaked at No. 2, giving Stevens' his first top ten albums and spent 28 weeks on the UK Charts and was certified Gold. The album also contains earlier singles Hey Mae and Shooting Gallery.

Stevens whose first job was as a milkman, he still dreamed of a career as a singer and played in amateur bands in his leisure time. In 1968, he formed his first professional band, called Shakin’ Stevens and the Sunsets, managed by promoter Paul Barrett, who came up with Shaky’s new stage name and within a few years burst on to the music scene.

This album may not appeal to many of Shaky’s fans, but it does have a few moments to sing and shout out, with the songs Hey Mae, This Ole House being the top favorites here.

Rating: ****

Label: Epic (Polydor in India)

Year of release: 1980 / 1981

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira