Songs with Earlier Histories Than the Hit Version

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Action (Where the Action Is)

Based on “Shim Sham Shuffle” by Ricky Lyons (1960).
Hit version by Freddy Cannon (US #13 1965).

From the wiki: “Where the Action Is was created by Dick Clark as a spin-off of American Bandstand. It premiered on the ABC-TV network on June 27, 1965, airing each weekday afternoon. Originally intended as a summer replacement and broadcast at 2 P.M. EDT, the show was successful enough for it to continue throughout the 1965-66 TV season.

“The show’s theme song, ‘Action’, written by Steve Venet and Tommy Boyce (‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonight’, ‘(Theme from) The Monkees‘, ‘Last Train to Clarksville’), became a hit single for Freddy ‘Boom Boom’ Cannon, peaking on the charts at #13 in September 1965. Venet and Hart based their hit on the previously-released ‘Shim Sham Shuffle’, co-written and recorded by Ricky Lyons.”

Freddy Cannon, “Action” (1965):

Where The Action Is, with The Four Tops, Paul Revere & The Raiders ((1965):

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