Shake — Sugaree

: Cotten composed the guitar part first and played it for her great-grandchildren.

The song was recorded in the mid-1960s and serves as the title track for her 1967 album on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings .

The song has had a profound impact on the folk and rock genres: Shake Sugaree (Elizabeth Cotten/Peter Keane) - Elijah Wald Shake Sugaree

: It may refer to the practice of throwing sugar on a floor and dancing on it to create a percussive "shuffling" sound.

: The verses were largely contributed by the children, each adding words or phrases to the song. : Cotten composed the guitar part first and

: Other theories suggest it refers to a North Carolina Native American tribe (the Sugaree) or serves as gambling slang for "shaking dice". Musical Legacy

: Some scholars believe the word is a corruption of "shegureh," a West African percussion instrument made of a gourd enclosed in a bead net. : The verses were largely contributed by the

: The original recording features Cotten’s 12-year-old great-granddaughter, Brenda Evans , on lead vocals. Meaning of "Sugaree"