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| Name | Del Shannon |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Charles Weedon Westover |
| Alias | Charlie Johnson |
| Born | December 30, 1934Grand Rapids, Michigan,United States |
| Died | February 08, 1990 Santa Clarita, California,United States |
| Instrument | Vocals, guitar |
| Genre | Rock, country music |
| Occupation | Singer–songwriter |
| Years active | 1958–90 |
| Label | Bigtop, Berlee, Amy, Liberty, Dunhill, United Artists, Island, Elektra, Silvertone |
| Url | Official website |
Del Shannon (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990) was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.
When his service ended, he returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, and worked in a furniture factory as a truck driver and selling carpets. He also found part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in singer Doug DeMott's group, working at the Hi-Lo Club. When DeMott was fired in 1958, Westover took over as leader and singer, giving himself the name Charlie Johnson, and renaming his band the Big Little Show Band.
In early 1959 he added keyboardist Max Crook, who played the Musitron (his own invention of an early synthesizer). Crook had made recordings and persuaded Ann Arbor disc jockey Ollie McLaughlin to hear the band. In turn, McLaughlin took the group's demos to Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik of Talent Artists in Detroit. In July 1960, Westover and Crook signed to become recording artists and composers, on the Bigtop label. Balk suggested Westover use a new name, and they came up with Del Shannon, combining a friend's assumed surname with Del from his favorite car, the Cadillac Coupe de Ville. "Little Town Flirt", in 1962 (with Bob Babbitt), reached #12 in 1963, as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the U.S., but continued his success in England, where he had always been more popular. In 1963, he became the first American to record a cover version of a Beatles song. "From Me to You" charted in the US before the Beatles.
He returned to the charts immediately with "Handy Man" (a 1960 hit by Jimmy Jones), "Do You Wanna Dance" (a 1958 hit by Bobby Freeman), and two originals, "Keep Searchin'" (#3 in the UK; #9 in the US), and "Stranger in Town" (#40 in the UK).
In the latter part of 1964, Shannon produced a demo recording session for a young fellow Michigander named Bob Seger, who would go onto his own stardom much later. Del gave acetates of the session to Dick Clark (Del was on one of Clark's tours in 1965) and by 1966 Bob Seger was recording for Philadelphia's famed Cameo Records label, resulting in some regional hits which would eventually lead to a major-label deal with Capitol Records.
Also in late '64, Del paid tribute to one of his own musical idols, with Del Shannon sings Hank Williams, Amy Records 8004, released in the closing days of 1964. The album was recorded in hardcore country honky-tonk style and no singles were released.
Shannon opened with Ike and Tina Turner at Dave Hull's Hullabaloo, in Los Angeles, California, on December 22, 1965.
After he and his manager jointly sought back royalties for Shannon, Bug Music was founded in 1975 to administer his songs.
A 1976 article on Shannon's concert at The Roxy Theatre described the singer as "personal, pure and simple rock 'n' roll, dated but gratifyingly undiluted." Shannon sang some of his new rock songs along with classics like "Endless Sleep" and "The Big Hurt." Writer Richard Cromelin said "Shannon's haunting vignettes of heartbreak and restlessness contain something of a cosmic undercurrent which has the protagonist tragically doomed to a bleak, shadowy struggle."
Shannon enjoyed a resurgence after re-recording "Runaway" with new lyrics as the theme for the NBC-TV television program Crime Story. Producer Michael Mann felt this was definitive of the era in which the program was set. The new lyrics replaced "wishin' you were here by me... to end this misery" with “watchin’ all the things go by... some live, while others die,” reflecting the violent, mob-related show.
In 1988, Shannon sang "The World We Know" with The Smithereens on their album Green Thoughts. Shortly after, in 1990, he recorded with Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra, and there were rumors he would join The Traveling Wilburys after Roy Orbison's death. |- | 03.1961 |"Runaway" |align="center"| 1 |align="center"| 1 |- | 06.1961 |"Hats Off to Larry" |align="center"| 5 |align="center"| 6 |- | 09.1961 |"So Long Baby" |align="center"| 28 |align="center"| 10 |- | 11.1961 |"Hey! Little Girl" |align="center"| 38 |align="center"| 2 |- | 03.1962 |"I Won't Be There" |align="center"| 113 |align="center"| - |- | 03.1962 |"Ginny In The Mirror" |align="center"| 117 |align="center"| - |- | 06.1962 |"Cry Myself to Sleep" |align="center"| 99 |align="center"| 29 |- | 09.1962 |"The Swiss Maid" |align="center"| 64 |align="center"| 2 |- | 12.1962 |"Little Town Flirt" |align="center"| 12 |align="center"| 4 |- | 04.1963 |"Two Kinds of Teardrops" |align="center"| 50 |align="center"| 5 |- | 06.1963 |"From Me to You" |align="center"| 77 |align="center"| - |- | 08.1963 |"Two Silhouettes" |align="center"| - |align="center"| 23 |- | 11.1963 |"Sue's Gotta Be Mine" |align="center"| 71 |align="center"| 21 |- | 03.1964 |"That's The Way Love Is" |align="center"| 133 |align="center"| - |- | 03.1964 |"Mary Jane" |align="center"| - |align="center"| 35 |- | 07.1964 |"Handy_Man_(song)" |align="center"| 22 |align="center"| 36 |- | 09.1964 |"Do You Want To Dance" |align="center"| 43 |align="center"| - |- | 11.1964 |"Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)" |align="center"| 9 |align="center"| 3 |- | 02.1965 |"Stranger in Town" |align="center"| 30 |align="center"| 40 |- | 05.1965 |"Break Up" |align="center"| 95 |align="center"| - |- | 08.1965 |"Move It On Over" |align="center"| 129 |align="center"| - |- | 05.1966 |"The Big Hurt" |align="center"| 94 |align="center"| - |- | 09.1966 |"Under My Thumb" |align="center"| 128 |align="center"| - |- | 02.1967 |"She" |align="center"| 131 |align="center"| - |- | 09.1967 |"Runaway" (remake) |align="center"| 112 |align="center"| - |- | 06.1969 |"Comin' Back To Me" |align="center"| 127 |align="center"| - |- | 12.1981 |"Sea of Love" |align="center"| 33 |align="center"| - |- | 03.1995 |"In My Arms Again"A |align="center"| - |align="center"| - |}
Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American rock singers Category:Musicians who committed suicide Category:Musicians from Michigan Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductees Category:Liberty Records artists Category:1934 births Category:1990 deaths Category:people from Grand Rapids, Michigan Category:Suicides by firearm in California
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