Shame, Shame, Shame (Shirley & Company song)

"Shame, Shame, Shame" is a 1974 hit song written by Sylvia Robinson, performed by American disco band Shirley & Company and released on the Vibration label. The lead singer is Shirley Goodman, the male vocalist is Jesus Alvarez.

The track, with its prominent use of the Bo Diddley beat, was one of the first international disco hits and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts. It also hit number one on the soul singles chart for one week.  The phrase "got my sun roof down, got my diamonds in the back" appeared as "diamond in the back, sun roof top" in William DeVaughn's "Be Thankful for What You Got" in 1974.

"Shame, Shame, Shame" also stayed at number one on the disco/dance charts for four weeks.  It was, however, the sole success of this one-hit wonder band: a full-length album Shame, Shame, Shame was subsequently recorded and was released in 1975.

Shirley Goodman was one half of Shirley and Lee who had enjoyed a major hit 18 years earlier, in 1956, with the song "Let The Good Times Roll" for Aladdin Records. The saxophone solo was by Seldon Powell, whose instrumental  version "More Shame" was the B-side.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions
Linda Fields & The Funky Boys covered a nearly identical sounding version, released as a single (7") in 1975 (credited to Linda & the Funky Boys); it was re-released in 1983 as a 12" EP. This version appears on several disco compilations and is often confused with the original. Their version charted concurrently with the original in New Zealand, reaching #24. 

In 1974, The Rolling Stones recorded the song but never released. Also in 1974, Henri Salvador recorded a French version of the song, with the title "J'aime tes g'noux" ("I like your knees").

Tina Turner and Cher performed "Shame, Shame, Shame" on the Cher show in 1975. Ike & Tina Turner's version was released on the 1980 album The Edge. The song was released as a single in Europe and peaked at #47 in the Netherlands.

Tina Charles covered the song. Polish-Swedish singer Izabella Scorupco recorded a cover version of the song in 1992 which was a charted hit in a number of European countries. It appears on an extended version of her 1991 album Iza. Also in 1992, the song was covered by British-American singer Sinitta. It was released as a single and peaked at number 28 in the United Kingdom. It was later included on her third studio album Naughty Naughty (1995). The A-Teens recorded a cover of the song for their album New Arrival (2003).

Use in popular culture 

 In the 2014 film Pride, Jonathan Blake (Dominic West) impresses the town of Onllwyn by disco dancing to the song.

See also
List of number-one hits of 1975 (Germany)
List of number-one dance singles of 1975 (U.S.)
List of number-one R&B singles of 1975 (U.S.)

References

Category:1974 singles
Category:1992 singles
Category:Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles
Category:Billboard Dance Club Songs number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Disco songs
Category:Songs written by Sylvia Robinson
Category:Song recordings produced by Mark Taylor (record producer)
Category:Philips Records singles
Category:Arista Records singles
Category:Ike & Tina Turner songs
Category:1974 songs