"Shake a Tail Feather" is a song originally recorded in 1963 by the Chicago-based group The Five Du-Tones

The Five Du-Tones

The Five Du-Tones Were Robert Hopkins , Willie Guest, Frank McCurrey, LeRoy Joyce, James West, and Andrew Butler. They formed at Patrick Henry High School in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1957....

. (It was featured on the soundtrack of the 1988 film Hairspray.) A 1967 version by James & Bobby Purify

James & Bobby Purify

James & Bobby Purify were an R&B singing duo, whose biggest hits were "I'm Your Puppet" in 1966, which reached #6 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and in a re-recorded version #12 in the UK Singles Chart , and "Let Love Come Between Us" in 1967, which reached #23 in the U.S.James Lee Purify was...

 reached #25 on the charts.

Cover versions

"Shake a Tail Feather" has been covered by many other artists over the years, perhaps most notably by Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

, who performed the song during his scenes in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers (film)

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...

. This version of the song includes calls for various 1960s dances, including the Twist

Twist (dance)

The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...

, the Monkey

Monkey (dance)

The Monkey is a novelty dance, most popular in 1963. The dance was popularized by two R&B records: Major Lance's "The Monkey Time", and The Miracles' "Mickey's Monkey" both Top 10 Pop hits released during the summer of 1963....

, The Frug

The Frug

The Frug was a dance craze from the 1960s that evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pace step while doing the Twist. As young dancers grew more tired they would do less work, moving only their hips...

 and The Mashed Potato, to be performed by a crowd gathered outside Ray's Music Exchange.

The song was also covered by The Cheetah Girls

The Cheetah Girls (recording artists)

The Cheetah Girls were an American girl group consisting of Adrienne Bailon, Sabrina Bryan and Kiely Williams. The group was created by The Walt Disney Company, and made famous by the eponymous Disney Channel original film and its sequels, The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls: One World...

 for the 2005 Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 film Chicken Little.

The Kingsmen

The Kingsmen

The Kingsmen is a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks...

 included the song on their Up and Away 1966 album.

The Monkees

The Monkees

The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...

 performed the song in 1968 on the band's television special, 33 Revolutions Per Monkee.

Hanson

Hanson (band)

Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...

 included the song in a medley with Gimme Some Lovin'

Gimme Some Lovin'

"Gimme Some Loving" is a song written by Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis and Muff Winwood, and originally performed by The Spencer Davis Group. The basic riff of the song was borrowed from the Homer Banks song " A Lot of Love", written by Banks and Willie Dean "Deanie" Parker. The song was a UK #2 in...

 on their 1998 release Live from Albertane

Live from Albertane

Live from Albertane is a live album by American pop rock group Hanson. As the name suggests, it is a live album, recorded during the group's Albertane Tour...

.

Other notable artists who have recorded the song include Ike and Tina Turner (as re-created in the film "What's Love Got to Do with It"), Mitch Ryder

Mitch Ryder

William S. Levise, Jr , better known by his stage name Mitch Ryder, is an American musician who has recorded over two dozen albums in more than four decades.-Career:...

, Gerry & The Pacemakers

Gerry & the Pacemakers

Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat music group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein and recorded by George Martin. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with...

 and Tommy James and the Shondells.