Songfacts®:

• The soul music legend Bobby Womack played guitar on "Shake," which was recorded in 1964. Cooke launched Womack's career, signing and promoting Womack and his brothers, who played as The Valentinos. After Cooke's death, Womack married Cooke's widow, Barbara Campbell.
• "Shake" was a posthumous hit for Cooke. On December 11, 1964, Cooke was fatally shot in Los Angeles, California by the manager of the Hacienda Motel. Cooke was 33. His death was ruled a justifiable homicide at the time, as Cooke had been drinking and was distressed by an encounter with another resident of the hotel. However, the circumstances of Cooke's death have been widely questioned in the years since.
• Cooke was a big fan of cha-cha and rhumba; "Shake" was one of several "cha-cha" songsCooke recorded, along with "Another Saturday Night" and "Everybody Loves to Cha-Cha-Cha."
• Otis Redding, Eric Burdon and the Animals, Small Faces and The Supremes also recorded versions of "Shake." The Supremes version was included on an album of Sam Cooke covers titled We Remember Sam Cooke.