Real Thing Shakes

1996 single by B'z

"Real Thing Shakes"

Single by B'z

Released

May 15, 1996

Studio

Cherokee (Los Angeles, California, US)
Birdman West (Tokyo, Japan)

Genre

Hard rock

Length

4:12

Label

Rooms Records

Composer(s)

Tak Matsumoto

Lyricist(s)

Koshi Inaba

Producer(s)

Andy Johns

B'z singles chronology

"Mienai Chikara (Invisible One)/Move"
(1996)

"Real Thing Shakes"
(1996)

"Fireball"
(1997)

"Real Thing Shakes" is the twentieth single by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on May 15, 1996. The song is one of the band's many number-one singles on the Oricon chart. This is the first B'z single that was not produced by guitarist Tak Matsumoto since "Taiyō no Komachi Angel", instead opting for British producer Andy Johns. It sold over 1,140,000 copies according to Oricon, making it their thirteenth consecutive million-seller single.^[1] The band would hold the record for most consecutive million-seller singles for seventeen years until AKB48 broke it in 2013 with their single "Heart Electric".^[2] It was used as the theme song for the drama Oretachi ni Ki o Tsukero..^[3] It was also the band's first English single.^{[citation needed]}

The song has been cited as one of the band's works that best showcases vocalist Koshi Inaba's wide vocal range.^[4]

It is said^{[by whom?]} that the song was recorded as part of an attempt by BMG Japan to break B'z into the American market that never fully materialized.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka released a compilation album featuring his favorite songs, titled Music from the Mound, which featured the song.^[5]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes.^[6]

B'z

Koshi Inaba – vocals
Tak Matsumoto – guitars

Additional musicians

Tony Franklin – bass
Gregg Bissonette – drums

Production

Andy Johns – production, recording, mixing
Masayuki Nomura – recording
Ryoichi Terashima – director
Eric Janko – assistant engineer
Keisuke Takakuwa – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts


Chart (1996)	Peak position
Japan (Oricon)^[7]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Japan (Oricon)^[8]	12

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[9]	3× Platinum	1,200,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "B'z、歴代No.1アーティストまでの軌跡！" (in Japanese). Oricon. 25 May 2006. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ "【オリコン】AKB48が史上初の14作連続ミリオン B'zの記録を17年ぶり更新". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
^ "Real Thing Shakes | B'z". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-22.
^ "音域データ - B'z - Real Thing Shakes". Range.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
^ "松坂大輔投手セレクトのコンピCDがリリース！ヌーノ・ベッテンコートら参加の新曲も - CDJournal ニュース". www.cdjournal.com (in Japanese). 2007-08-02. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
^ "Real Thing Shakes" liner notes. Vermillion Records. 1996
^ "Real Thing Shakes | B'z". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-07-22.
^ Single Chart-Book Complete Edition 1968-2005 (in Japanese). Oricon Entertainment. 2006-04-25. ISBN 978-4871310765.
^ "Japanese single certifications – B'z – Real Thing Shakes" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved August 24, 2021. Select 1996年5月 on the drop-down menu