Chan Romero

Robert Lee "Chan" Romero (July 7, 1941 – 22 April 2024) was an American rock and roll performer, best known for his 1959 song "The Hippy Hippy Shake".
Romero was born in Billings, Montana. His father was of Spanish and Apache descent, while his mother was a mixture of Mexican, Cherokee, and Irish. Both had migrated to Montana during the Great Depression, seeking employment as migrant farm workers. The nickname "Chan" was bestowed on Romero by his grandfather. Since Romero often ran around without footwear, the nickname, from a Spanish phrase meaning "little boy with pig's feet" seemed appropriate.
Romero said Elvis Presley's 1956 performance of "Hound Dog" on The Steve Allen Show was a turning point in his life. He hitchhiked to East Los Angeles, California, in 1958 while still a teenager, where he wrote The Hippy Hippy Shake and launched his career. An uncle introduced Romero and his music to an A&R representative from Specialty Records: Sonny Bono. Bono was particularly taken with a song called "My Little Ruby" and asked Romero to polish the song and to return in a few weeks. But since Romero needed to return to school in Montana, he never returned to Specialty.
Romero's career skyrocketed with the release of "The Hippy Hippy Shake" in July 1959. Released first in North America and later in Australia and the UK, it soon came to the attention of Paul McCartney who liked the song and sang it at the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the Star Club in Hamburg during his early years with The Beatles. It also did well enough in Australia for Romero to do a tour there with Jerry Lee Lewis. The 1964 version by The Swinging Blue Jeans hit number one across Europe.
Romero became the first Latino to be inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
==Links to Peel==
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Peel played Chan's well known song, 'Hippy, Hippy Shake' on his show in 1992 via the The Del-Fi & Donna Story compilation album released through Ace Records. No further tracks from the singer were played by the DJ on his radio programmes.
==Shows Played==
;1992
*04 April 1992: Hippy, Hippy Shake (v/a album - The Del-Fi & Donna Story) Ace
==External Links==
*Wikipedia
*Discogs
Category:Artists