Tag Archives: Tommy Roe

“Sweet little Sheila, you’ll know her if you see her:” The Great and “not as bubble-gummy as you think” Tommy Roe

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OK, I am prepared for all the ridicule you want to send my way.  Because we are definitely not in the realm of cutting edge music.

But I have always thought of  Tommy Roe  as more than a Buddy Holly wannabe and quite a performer and song-writer in his own right. 

Some of his songs are pop classics and, while they were originally and somewhat unfairly considered “bubble gum,” that term doesn’t begin to encompass his contribution to pop, rock, rockabilly, country, and  — OK — bubblegum.

No question about his best song:  Sheila.

Sweet little Sheila, you’ll know her if you see her
Blue eyes and a ponytail
Her cheeks are rosy, she looks a little nosey
Man, this little girl is fine

Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila
Her name drives me insane
Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila
Man, this little girl is fine

Me and Sheila go for a ride
Oh-oh-oh-oh, I feel all funny inside
Then little Sheila whispers in my ear
Oh-oh-oh-oh, I love you Sheila dear

Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me
True love will never die
We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together
Man, this little girl is fine

Never knew a girl like-a little Sheila
Her name drives me insane
Sweet little girl, that’s my little Sheila
Man, this little girl is fine

Me and Sheila go for a ride
Oh-oh-oh-oh, I feel all funny inside
Then little Sheila whispers in my ear
Oh-oh-oh-oh, I love you Sheila dear

Sheila said she loved me, she said she’d never leave me
True love will never die
We’re so doggone happy just bein’ around together
Man, this little girl is fine
Oh, this little girl is fine
Yeah, this little girl is fine
Oh, this little girl is fine

The Little Known “Sheila-Rule” of Popular Music

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I may be dating myself , but the “Sheila Rule” is a little known principle that has guided record producers since the mid-1950s.

The rule states that, when all else fails for a recording artist or producer, record any song with a title including the name Sheila. It  will be successful solely because Sheilas are inherently and magically  charming .

Here is something interesting. Tommy Roe had an early 60s mega-hit with the song Pretty Sheila. But several years before, in 1957 I think,  he recorded a stripped-down , garage-version of the same song for Judd records that I just found after searching for quite a while.  Notice how Judd Records mispelled the name Sheila as Shelia.

Enjoy and all hail the “Sheila Rule.”

Ok,  I confess. Sheila was my first love. I was 11.