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Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. The term is applied not only to those working in contemporary musical styles such as rock, jazz, country, R&B and pop but also classical music. Versatility is one of the most important skills of session musicians as they may have to perform in a range of different settings. Session musicians are expected to learn parts rapidly and be skilled in both sight reading and ear training.

Session musicians are used in any situation where musical skills are needed on a short-term basis. Typically session musicians are used by recording studios to provide backing tracks for other musicians in recording studios and live performances; recording for advertising, film and television; or theatrical productions.

The terms "session musician" and "studio musician" are now synonymous, though in past decades the latter term more typically described musicians who were associated with a particular record company or recording studio.

History and associations[link]

During the 1920s and 1930s most record companies had their own prolific "studio bands" turning out records of the latest pop hits. These were often made up by jazz and dance band musicians who were at the same time members of regular working bands and who divided their time between studio work (recordings as well as broadcasting) during the day and live performances in the evenings. Notable such "studio musicians" include Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, Oscar Peterson, Jack Teagarden, Red Nichols, Miff Mole, Andy Sannella, and Mike Mosiello.

Although session musicians have long and successful careers and can achieve considerable fame within the music industry, they rarely achieve popular celebrity. Notable exceptions include the members of the band Toto who met in various recording sessions; John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page, who were well known as session musicians before their later success with Led Zeppelin; keyboardist Rick Wakeman; and renowned vocalists Valerie Simpson, Lisa Fischer and Luther Vandross.

Among the most prolific established studio musicians are The Wrecking Crew. Based in Los Angeles, the Wrecking Crew has recorded innumerable songs and albums since the 1960s. One of their bassists, Carol Kaye, is said to be the most recorded bassist of all time with 10,000 sessions spanning four decades,^[1] yet is largely unknown to the general public.

The Funk Brothers were session musicians who performed the backing to many Motown Records recordings from the late 1950's to the early 1970's. The legendary Billy Preston was a session musician who played with Mahalia Jackson and was known as the 'fifth' Beatle for his work with the Beatles.

The Los Angeles singer/songwriter scene associated with The Troubadour nightclub and Laurel Canyon in the late 1960's to mid-1970's was supported by musicians Russ Kunkel, Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar and Craig Doerge. This session combo, nicknamed The Session or The Mafia, backed many musicians, among others: Carole King, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Kris Kristofferson and David Crosby.

A few session musicians have even built reputations of notoriety: English session singer Tony Burrows appeared so often as a frontman for various one-hit wonder studio groups (such as Edison Lighthouse, The Flower Pot Men, The Pipkins, The Brotherhood of Man, White Plains, and The First Class), in a short period of time during the early 1970s, that his attempts at a solo career under his own name were hampered, due in part to burnout.

Another well-known group of session musicians is called The Nashville A-Team and is made up of A-list studio musicians who recorded during the Nashville Sound era. Their contributions began in the 1950s with artists such as Elvis Presley. Some of these musicians are still alive today. The original A-Team includes bassist Bob Moore; guitarists Grady Martin, Hank Garland, Ray Edenton, and Harold Bradley; drummer Buddy Harman; pianists Floyd Cramer and Hargus "Pig" Robbins; fiddler Tommy Jackson; steel guitarist Pete Drake; harmonicist Charlie McCoy; saxophonist Boots Randolph; and vocal groups The Jordanaires and The Anita Kerr Singers. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section comprising Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood, and Jimmy Johnson, also known as The Swampers, is another well-established group of session musicians. They have become known for the "Muscle Shoals Sound." Many of the recordings done in the Memphis area, which included Muscle Shoals, Alabama, used the The Memphis Horns in their arrangements. MFSB was a group of soul music studio musicians based in Philadelphia at the Sigma Sound Studios; they later went on to become a name-brand instrumental group, and their best known hit was TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia), better known as the theme from Soul Train.

See also[link]

• Ray Charles Singers
• Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Usual Suspects - A Tribute to Los Angeles Studio Musicians
• Advantages of Using Session Musicians on Your Songwriting Demo

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Nathan East
Nathan East performing in 2005
Background information
Birth name	Nathan Harrell East
Born	(1955-12-08) 8 December 1955 (age 56) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz, R&B, rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, Upright bass, electric bass guitar, cello
Associated acts	Fourplay, Eric Clapton, Toto
Website	Nathan East.com
Notable instruments
Yamaha basses

Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego (1978). He is a member of smooth jazz quartet Fourplay and has recorded, performed and co-written songs with performers such as Eric Clapton, Joe Satriani, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Toto and Herbie Hancock.

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Born to Thomas and Gwendolyn East, he is one of eight children (five boys and three girls) raised in San Diego, California, where the family moved when he was four. East first studied cello in seventh through ninth grades and played in local Horace Mann junior high school's orchestra. At age fourteen he developed an interest in the bass guitar, playing in church (Christ The King) for folk masses with his brothers Raymond and David. He was active in his (Crawford) high school's music programs along with a local top 40 band called "Power". He has said his early influences included Charles Mingus, Ray Brown and Ron Carter on upright bass; and James Jamerson, Paul McCartney and Chuck Rainey on electric bass. He studied music at UC San Diego. Nathan East is an accomplished amateur magician.

Musical experience[link]

East has recorded, performed and co-written songs with Anita Baker, Babyface, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, The Manhattan Transfer, and Herbie Hancock. He composed the music for the Number one hit song "Easy Lover" for Phil Collins and Philip Bailey.

He performed on the Grammy Award- winning Unplugged album with Eric Clapton which featured the classic song "Tears In Heaven" (1992). East, a long-time member of Eric Clapton's studio and touring bands since the early 1980s also played on Clapton's "Change The World" which won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1997. Other DVDs and videos Nathan appears on include Babyface Unplugged (1997), Phil Collins' "Live & Loose in Paris" (1998), Eric Clapton's 24 Nights (1991), One More Car, One More Rider (2001), Crossroads Guitar Festival (2004), Fourplay "Live in Cape Town (2006), Andrea Bocelli's, Vivere Live in Tuscany (2007) and David Foster & Friends (2008).

East was invited to play at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2009, with a cast of luminaries of all genres of music.

East is one of the original members of the contemporary jazz group Fourplay, along with Bob James (keyboards), Lee Ritenour on guitar(later replaced by Larry Carlton and Chuck Loeb) and Harvey Mason (drums). Their Grammy Award-nominated albums have earned platinum status, and have topped Billboard's contemporary jazz charts.

In early 2010, East was invited to join American Grammy Award-winning rock band Toto on their reunion tour to benefit member Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Another tour took place in the summer of 2011 with East once again playing.

Equipment[link]

East has endorsed Yamaha instruments since 1981 and developed his own custom 5-string signature model in 1995, the BBNE2 (modeled after his early 1980s BB415 5-string bass). He has used a custom 6-string version of his signature bass since late 2003, along with a Motion 5-string bass and a pair of 6-string TRB6P models finished in Faded Cherry Sunburst with gold hardware and Polar White with satin black hardware, both featuring a high-mass bridge with piezo saddles for acoustic upright tones and created with Yamaha the NE1 Parametric EQ Pedal, otherwise known as the "Magic Box".

East also plays the Yamaha SLB200 Silent Upright Bass and endorsed Music Man and Fodera basses between 1988 and 1994.

Awards[link]

East has received a range of awards from music industry associations including The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors most prestigious Ivor Novello Award for co-writing the Collins/Bailey classic hit "Easy Lover", Most Valuable Player (bass category) at the International Rock Awards and three time Bassist of the Year at the U.S. National Smooth Jazz Awards, N.A.R.A.S. MVP (bassist), ASCAP Awards for most performed work. In 2007, Nathan was honored by the United States Congress and awarded a Congressional Record for his contribution to the worldwide music community.^[1]

Soundtracks[link]

East is also credited on numerous soundtracks including Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Crossroads, Tarzan, Waiting to Exhale, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Preacher's Wife, Phenomenon, One Fine Day, Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3, Rush, Escape From L.A., Something to Talk About, Brewster's Millions, Thelma & Louise and Footloose.

Discography[link]

DVD[link]

• East produced an instructional DVD called "The Business of Bass" by Hal Leonard Publishing.
• East appears in many Eric Clapton concert DVDs, including 24 Nights, MTV Unplugged, One More Car, One More Rider and various others such as Live at Montreux.
• East was a participant in Star Licks Productions’, All-Star Bass Series.

References[link]

References incorrectly left out of inline referencing[link]

• Smooth Jazz Notes Interview
• All Music Complete Discography
• The Business of Bass DVD
• Musician's Friend Exclusive Interview
• Mix Magazine Article
• Bass Player Magazine Article
• Wire Image Photos
• YAMAHA Artist

External links[link]

• Nathan East.com
• Fourplay homepage
• Nathan East on Myspace
• Facebook
• Twitter

v t e Toto David Paich Steve Lukather Joseph Williams Steve Porcaro Simon Phillips Mike Porcaro Jeff Porcaro Bobby Kimball David Hungate Fergie Frederiksen Greg Phillinganes Jean-Michel Byron Studio albums Toto Hydra Turn Back Toto IV Isolation Fahrenheit The Seventh One Kingdom of Desire Tambu Mindfields Through the Looking Glass Falling in Between Live albums Greatest Hits Live...and More Absolutely Live Livefields Live in Amsterdam Falling in Between Live Compilation albums Past to Present 1977–1990 Best Ballads Toto XX Super Hits The Very Best of Toto The Essential Toto The Collection Soundtracks Dune Notable songs "Hold the Line" "I'll Supply the Love" "Georgy Porgy" "99" "Rosanna" "Make Believe" "Africa" "I Won't Hold You Back" "Stranger in Town" "I'll Be over You" "Pamela" "Stop Loving You" "Mushanga" "Bottom of Your Soul" Related people Lenny Castro Nathan East Tony Spinner Tom Kelly Joe Porcaro Marty Paich Related articles Discography Members Rosanna shuffle Boz Scaggs Book:Toto

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound". He was known for his "slip note" piano style, where an out-of-key note slides into the correct note.

Biography[link]

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show.

In 1953, he cut his first single, "Dancin' Diane", backed with "Little Brown Jug", for the local Abbott label. He then toured with an emerging talent who would later figure significantly in his career, Elvis Presley.^[1]

Cramer moved to Nashville in 1955 where the use of piano accompanists in country music was growing in popularity. By the next year he was, in his words, "in day and night doing sessions.”^[2] Before long, he was one of the busiest studio musicians in the industry, playing piano for stars such as Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, The Browns, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Roy Orbison, Don Gibson, and the Everly Brothers, among others. It was Cramer's piano playing, for instance, on Presley's first national hit, "Heartbreak Hotel". However, Cramer remained strictly a session player, a virtual unknown to anyone outside the music industry.

Cramer had released records under his own name since the early 1950s, and became well known following the release of "Last Date", a 45 rpm single, in 1960.^[3] The instrumental piece exhibited a relatively new concept for piano playing known as the "slip note" style. The record went to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop music chart, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[4]

In 1961 Cramer had a hit with "On the Rebound," which went to number three, and number one in the UK chart. ("On the Rebound" was later featured during the opening credits of the 2009 Oscar-nominated film An Education, which was set in 1961 England). That same year Cramer also hit with "San Antonio Rose" (number eight).

By the mid-1960s, Cramer had become a respected performer, making numerous record albums and touring with guitar maestro Chet Atkins and saxophonist Boots Randolph; also performing with them as a member of the Million Dollar Band.

Over the years, Cramer continued to balance session work with his own albums. Many of these featured standards or popular hits of the era and from 1965 to 1974 he annually recorded a disc of the year's biggest hits prefaced "Class of . . ." Other long-players included I Remember Hank Williams (1962), Floyd Cramer Plays the Monkees (1967), Looking For Mr Goodbar (1968) and Sounds of Sunday (1971). In 1977 Floyd Cramer and the Keyboard Kick Band was released, on which he played eight different keyboard instruments.^[1]

Floyd Cramer died of lung cancer in 1997 at the age of 64 and was interred in the Spring Hill Cemetery in the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee.

Legacy[link]

His grandson, Jason Coleman, inherited his grandfather's skill on the piano, performing with him on television and in concert at a young age. At age 17, he played "Please Help Me, I'm Falling", the first song to feature Cramer's signature slip notes, with Hank Locklin at the Grand Ole Opry, and two years later played piano for the Medallion ceremony at Cramer’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He is currently carrying on his grandfather's legacy with a series of recordings and a tribute concert, The Legacy of Floyd Cramer, sharing the piano arrangements and story of Cramer's contributions to American music while on tour throughout the country.

Awards[link]

In 2003, Floyd Cramer was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 2008, Floyd Cramer was posthumously inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, offers the Floyd Cramer Competitive Scholarship.

Quotation[link]

NME - November 1961^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

See also[link]

• The Nashville A-Team

References[link]

• Escott, Colin (1998). "Floyd Cramer". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 117–8.

External links[link]

• Rockhall.com
• Spaceagepop.com
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

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.

Biography[link]

Del Shannon was born Charles Weedon Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He grew up in Coopersville, a small town near Grand Rapids. There he learned ukulele and guitar and listened to country and western music, including Hank Williams, Hank Snow, and Lefty Frizzell. He was drafted into the Army in 1954, and while in Germany played guitar in a band called The Cool Flames.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

In early 1959 he added keyboardist Max Crook, who played the Musitron (his own invention of an early synthesizer). Crook had made recordings, and he persuaded Ann Arbor disc jockey Ollie McLaughlin to hear the band. 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 Shannon Kavanagh with Del, derived from the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, his favorite car.^[2]

Success[link]

He flew to New York City, but his first sessions were not successful. McLaughlin then persuaded Shannon and Crook to rewrite and re-record one of their earlier songs, originally called "Little Runaway", using the Musitron as lead instrument. On 21 January 1961, they recorded "Runaway", which was released as a single in February 1961, reaching #1 in the Billboard chart in April.

Shannon followed with "Hats Off to Larry", which peaked at #5 (Billboard) and #2 on Cashbox in 1961, and the less popular "So Long, Baby," another song of breakup bitterness. "Runaway" and "Hats Off to Larry" were recorded in a day.^[3] "Little Town Flirt", in 1962 (with Bob Babbitt), reached #12 in 1963, as did the album of the same title. 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 song by The Beatles: his "From Me to You" charted in the US before The Beatles' version.

Berlee Records and move to Amy[link]

By August 1963, Shannon's relationship with his managers and Bigtop had soured, so he formed his own label, Berlee Records, named after his parents^[4] and distributed by Diamond Records. Two singles were issued: the apparently Four Seasons-inspired "Sue's Gotta Be Mine" was a moderate hit, attaining #71 in the US and #21 in the UK (where Shannon's records continued on the London label). The second single, "That's The Way Love Is", did not chart, and Shannon patched things up with his managers soon after. In early 1964, he was placed on Amy (Stateside in the UK), and the Berlee label disappeared.

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 on to 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 1964, 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 22 December 1965.^[5]

Moves to Liberty, United Artists and Island[link]

Shannon signed with Liberty in 1966 and revived Miss Toni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" and the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb". Peter and Gordon released his "I Go To Pieces" in 1965.^[2] Shannon also discovered country singer Johnny Carver, who was then working in the Los Angeles area. Del got Carver a contract with Liberty Records subsidiary Imperial Records, writing, producing and arranging both sides of Carver's debut single "One Way Or The Other"/"Think About Her All The Time". Carver went on to have nearly twenty Country-chart hits during the late 60s and 70s. The liner notes to his debut Imperial album acknowledge Del's role in his being brought to the label.

In the late 1960s, not having charted for several years, he turned to production. In 1969, he discovered Smith and arranged their hit "Baby, It's You," which had been a hit for the Shirelles in 1963. In 1970, he produced Brian Hyland's million-seller "Gypsy Woman", a cover of Curtis Mayfield.

During Shannon's Liberty Records tenure, success on a national scale eluded him, but he scored several "regional" U.S. chart hits with "The Big Hurt", "Under My Thumb", "She", "Led Along" and "Runaway" (1967 version). The 1967 version of "Runaway" (recorded in England and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham) also did well on Canadian and Australian pop charts.

In early '67, Shannon recorded the album Home And Away in England, with Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham at the helm. Intended by Oldham as the British answer to Pet Sounds, Home And Away was shelved by Liberty Records, although a handful of singles were issued. It was not until 1978 that all of the tracks were eventually issued (with three non-related tracks) on a British album titled And The Music Plays On. In 1991, all of the tracks were released in the US as part of the Del Shannon – The Liberty Years CD. In 2006, 39 years after it was recorded, Home And Away was finally released as a stand-alone collection by EMI Records, in the UK. This CD collected the eleven original tracks in stereo and the five single releases (US, UK and Philippines) in their original monaural mixes.

In September 1967, Del began laying down the tracks for "The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover", which would be highly regarded by fans and critics alike, despite disappointing sales. The album yielded two 1968 singles, "Thinkin' It Over" and "Gemini" (recently the subject of a Pilooski remix). In October 1968, Liberty Records released their tenth (in the USA) and final Del Shannon single, a cover of Dee Clark's 1961 hit, "Raindrops". This brought to a close a commercially disappointing period in Del's career.

In 1972, he signed to United Artists and recorded Live In England, released in June 1973. Reviewer Chris Martin critiqued the album favourably, saying that Shannon never improvised, was always true to the original sounds of his music, and that only Lou Christie rivaled his falsetto.^[6] In April 1975, Shannon signed with Island Records.^[7]

After he and his manager jointly sought back royalties for Shannon, Bug Music was founded in 1975 to administer his songs.^[8]

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."^[9]

Later career[link]

Shannon's career slowed greatly in the 1970s, in part due to his alcoholism.^[10] Welsh rock singer Dave Edmunds produced the Shannon single "And the Music Plays On" in 1974.^[2] In 1978 he stopped drinking and began work on "Sea of Love", released in the early 1980s. This song came from Shannon's album Drop Down and Get Me, produced by Tom Petty. The album took two years to record and featured Petty's Heartbreakers backing Shannon. RSO Records, which recorded Shannon, folded, and the LP was recorded by Network Records and distributed by Elektra Records. Seven songs are Shannon originals with covers of the Everly Brothers, Rolling Stones, Frankie Ford, and "Sea of Love" by Phil Phillips. It was Shannon's first album in eight years.^[3]

In February 1982, Shannon appeared at the Bottom Line. He performed pop-rock tunes and old hits. New York Times reviewer Stephen Holden described an "easygoing pop-country" manner. On "Runaway" and "Keep Searchin," Shannon and his band rediscovered the sound "in which his keen falsetto played off against airy organ obbligatos." In the 1980s Shannon performed "competent but mundane country-rock".^[11] In 1986, Shannon enjoyed a top-ten hit as a songwriter when pop-country singer Juice Newton released a single of her cover of Shannon's "Cheap Love," which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot Country chart.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[10] Previously, in 1975, Shannon had recorded tracks with Lynne, along with "In My Arms Again," a self-penned country song recorded by Warner Brothers, which had signed Shannon in 1984.^[2]

Death and legacy[link]

Suffering from depression, Shannon committed suicide on February 8, 1990, with a .22 caliber rifle at his home while on a prescription dose of the anti-depressant drug Prozac in Santa Clarita, California. Following his death, The Traveling Wilburys honored him by recording a version of "Runaway". Lynne also co-produced Shannon's posthumous album, Rock On, released on Silvertone in 1991.^{[citation needed]}

Shannon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999,^[12] and his contributions have been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Shannon was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.^[13] In 2007, Shannon's recording of "Runaway" was voted the #1 Legendary Michigan Song.^[14] Shannon has had two other recordings recognized as Legendary Michigan songs: "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" in 2008 and "Hats Off to Larry" in 2009.^[15]

Film and television[link]

Filmography[link]

• It's Trad, Dad! (aka Ring A Ding Rhythm) (1962)
• "Daytona Beach Weekend" (1965)
• The Best of Del Shannon, Rock 'N' Roll's Greatest Hits in Concert, (Live from the Rock & Roll Love Palace, Kissimmee, Florida, 1988). a television program hosted by Wolfman Jack.

Television[link]

• "American Bandstand" (1961)
• "Milt Grant Show" (DC) (1961)
• "The Buddy Deane Show" (1962)
• Shindig! (1965)
• "Hulaballoo" (1965)
• "The Lloyd Thaxton Show" (1965)
• "Shivaree" (1965)
• "The Merv Griffin Show" (Monday, August 16, 1965)
• Hollywood A Go-Go (1965)
• "Where The Action Is" (1966)
• Late Night with David Letterman (1986)
• "The Swingin Kind" ABC Television with Lee Alan