Rock and roll / rockabilly singer, songwriter, and guitarist Robert Lee Romero – born July 7, 1941, in Billings, Montana – was better known by his nickname Chan Romero. Born of mixed heritage – Spanish, Mexican, Apache, Cherokee, and Irish – he became interested in music after seeing Elvis Presley on The Steve Allen Show in 1956. Intent on pursuing a career in music, he hitchhiked to California and ended up in East Los Angeles. One of his songs, “Hippy Hippy Shake,” caught the attention of Specialty Records’ A&R man Sonny Bono (later of Sonny & Cher), but Chan Romero never released anything for the label. Instead, he signed to Del Fi Records – the home of Ritchie Valens – and released “Hippy Hippy Shake” as his debut single. The song was a success amongst international rock and roll fans including members of The Beatles, who included it in their early live sets at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany and the Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. His second single, “I Don’t Care Now,” was issued later that same year but didn’t not catch the attention of music fans like “Hippy Hippy Shake” and he quickly faded out of the spotlight. However, British Merseybeat quartet The Swinging Blue Jeans released their version of “Hippy Hippy Shake” in 1963, which became an international hit in 1963 and 1964. Because of renewed interest in Chan Romero, he released two singles in the ‘60s – “Funny Things” (1965) and “Humpy Bumpy” (1966) – but they were not successful, and he retreated into obscurity again. Although he never achieved another hit, Chan Romero continued to perform to adoring audiences over the years and released several compilations, many of which were called Hippy Hippy Shake (1995, 2006, 2022). Chan Romero died at the age of 82 on April 21, 2024.
