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1964 single by the Shirelles

This article is about the Shirelles Song. For The Walkers song, see Sha-La-La-La-La. For the Small Faces song, see Sha-La-La-La-Lee. For the song by Pentagon, see Genie:us.

"Sha La La" is a song written by Robert Mosely (whose name is spelled "Moseley" on the record) and Robert Taylor.[1] The Shirelles released the original version of the song as a single in March 1964 in the US, reaching number 15 on the U.S. R&B chart and number 69 on the U.S. pop chart.[2] A cover by the British pop group Manfred Mann would follow that October, being the most notable version of the song, reaching number 3 on the UK singles chart and number 12 on both the U.S. pop chart and the RPM charts in 1965.[3] Around the same time as the release of Manfred Mann`s version, the song was adapted into French by Georges Aber and performed by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, whose version was released as a single in October 1964 and reached number 14 on the French Belgian chart.[4][5]

Manfred Mann recording

The most successful version was performed by British pop group Manfred Mann. It reached number 3 on the UK singles chart and number 12 on both the U.S. pop chart and the Canadian chart in 1965.[6] It was featured on the US version of their 1965 album The Five Faces of Manfred Mann.[7]

Cash Box described it as "a delightful rock-a-rhythmic beat refitting of the Shirelles` few-seasons-back click."[8]

Other notable versions

In 1964, the song was adapted into French by Georges Aber and performed by French pop singer Sylvie Vartan, whose version was released as a single in October 1964 and reached number 14 on the Ultratop Wallonia charts (French Belgium).[9][10]