Various music sites have been reporting the death of rock and roll singer CHAN ROMERO. Few details have been given save that he died Sunday 21st April. He was aged 82 and passed away in Southern California.
Born Robert Lee Romero in Montana, “Chan” will forever be known for his wild rocker ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’. Inspired by Elvis Presley, he wrote the song in 1958 and when released in 1959 by Imperial it didn’t make too many waves but when released in the UK on HMV, it was adopted as a sort to anthem for early 60s beat bands. Almost every Merseybeat group (including the Beatles) played it in their live sets. Seeing the potential of the song, the Swinging Blue Jeans recorded and released it in 1964. It became a massive world-wide hit.
In the mid-60s Romero settled in Palm Springs from where he played the oldies circuit for a while before becoming a born-again Christiam. He eventually founded his own label, Warrior Records to release his own gospel recordings
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