Del Shannon | |
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 Shannon in 1965 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Charles Weedon Westover (1934-12-30)December 30, 1934 Coopersville, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | February 8, 1990(1990-02-08) (aged 55) |
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| Years active | 1954–1989 |
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| Website | delshannon |
Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), known professionally asDel Shannon, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-oneBillboard hit "Runaway", which was covered later by various major artists, includingElvis Presley and theTraveling Wilburys. In 1999, he was posthumously inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to his music career, he had minor acting roles.
Shannon was born Charles Weedon Westover on December 30, 1934, inCoopersville, Michigan, to Bert and Leone Mosher Westover.[1] He learned to play theukulele and guitar and listened tocountry-and-western music by artists such asHank Williams,Hank Snow, andLefty 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 toBattle Creek, Michigan, and worked as a carpet salesman and as a truck driver for a furniture factory. He found part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in singer Doug DeMott's group, the Moonlight Ramblers, working at the Hi-Lo Club.[2]
When DeMott was fired in 1958 for drunkenness, Westover took over as leader and singer, giving himself the name Charlie Johnson and renaming the band the Big Little Show Band.[3] In early 1959, he added keyboardistMax Crook, who played an instrument he called a Musitron (an early synthesizer of Crook's own invention, though modeled on the commercially releasedClavioline[4]). Crook had made recordings, and he persuadedAnn Arbor disc jockey Ollie McLaughlin to listen to the band. McLaughlin took the group's demonstration recordings toHarry Balk and Irving Micahnik of Talent Artists in Detroit. In July 1960, Westover and Crook signed to become recording artists and composers forBigtop Records. Balk suggested Westover use a new name, and they came up with "Del Shannon", combining Mark Shannon—a wrestling pseudonym used by a regular at the Hi-Lo Club—with Del, derived from theCadillac Coupe de Ville, his favorite car.[3]
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 theMusitron as lead instrument. On January 21, 1961, they recorded "Runaway", which was released as a single in February 1961, reaching number one on theBillboard chart in April. Shannon followed with "Hats Off to Larry", which peaked at number five on theBillboard chart and number two on theCashbox chart 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.[5]
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.[6]
He returned to the charts immediately with "Handy Man" (a 1960 hit byJimmy Jones), "Do You Wanna Dance" (a 1958 hit byBobby Freeman), and two originals, "Keep Searchin'" (number three in the UK, number nine in the US), and "Stranger in Town" (number 40 in the UK). In late 1964, Shannon produced a demonstration recording session for a young fellow Michigander namedBob Seger, who went on to stardom much later. Shannon gaveacetates of the session toDick Clark (he had performed in one of Clark's tours, in 1965), and by 1966, Seger was recording for Philadelphia's famedCameo Records, resulting in some regional hits, which eventually led to a deal with a major label,Capitol Records. Also in late 1964, Shannon paid tribute to one of his own musical idols withDel Shannon Sings Hank Williams (Amy Records 8004). The album was recorded in hard-core country honky-tonk style, and no singles were released. Shannon opened forIke and Tina Turner atDave Hull's Hullabaloo club in Los Angeles, California, on December 22, 1965.[7]
Shannon signed with Liberty in 1966 and revivedToni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" and theRolling Stones' "Under My Thumb".Peter and Gordon released his song "I Go to Pieces" in 1965.[3]
In September 1967, Shannon began laying down the tracks forThe Further Adventures of Charles Westover, which was highly regarded by fans and critics alike despite disappointing sales. The album yielded two 1968 singles, "Thinkin' It Over" and "Gemini". In October 1968, Liberty Records released their 10th (in the United States) and final Shannon single, a cover ofDee Clark's 1961 hit "Raindrops". This brought to a close a commercially disappointing period in Shannon's career. In 1972, he signed withUnited Artists and recordedLive 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 onlyLou Christie rivaled hisfalsetto.[8] In April 1975, he signed withIsland Records.[9]
After his manager and he jointly sought back royalties for Shannon,Bug Music was founded in 1975 to administer his songs.[10] By 2011, when Bug was acquired byBMG Rights Management, its catalogue had grown to include 250,000 compositions.[11]
A 1976 article on Shannon's concert at theRoxy 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 such as "Endless Sleep" and "The Big Hurt". TheLos Angeles Times wrote, "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."[12]
Shannon's career slowed down greatly in the 1970s, owing in part to his alcoholism.[13] Welsh rock singerDave Edmunds produced the single "And the Music Plays On" in 1974.[3] In 1978, Shannon stopped drinking and began work on "Sea of Love", released in 1982 on his albumDrop Down and Get Me, produced byTom Petty. The album took two years to record and featured Petty's band, the Heartbreakers, backing Shannon. However,RSO Records, to which Shannon was signed, folded. Further work on the LP was done forNetwork Records (distributed byElektra Records). Seven songs are Shannon originals with covers of songs recorded by theEverly Brothers,the Rolling Stones, andFrankie Ford, along with"Sea of Love" byPhil Phillips. It was Shannon's first album in eight years.[5]
In February 1982, Shannon appeared at theBottom Line. He performed pop-rock tunes and old hits. Stephen Holden, a reviewer forThe New York Times, described an "easygoing pop-country" style. On "Runaway" and "Keep Searchin'", Shannon and his band rediscovered the sound "in which his keen falsetto played off against airy organobbligatos." In the 1980s, Shannon performed "competent but mundane country-rock".[14]
Shannon had a resurgence of popularity after re-recording "Runaway" with new lyrics as the theme for theNBC-TV programCrime Story. In 1988, Shannon sang "The World We Know" withthe Smithereens on their albumGreen Thoughts. Two years later, he recorded withJeff Lynne of theElectric Light Orchestra, and rumors arose that he would jointhe Traveling Wilburys after the death ofRoy Orbison.[13][15] Previously, in 1975, Shannon had recorded tracks with Lynne, along with "In My Arms Again", a country song he wrote and recorded forWarner Bros. Records, which had signed Shannon in 1984.[3]
In January 1990, Shannon was pushing himself to finish a new album and schedule upcoming concerts, resulting in troublesome stress. On the advice of his doctor, on January 24, Shannon began takingProzac, an antidepressant. Fifteen days later, he died by suicide, shooting himself with a.22 caliber rifle at his home inSanta Clarita, California.[16][17][18] "He was very much in charge of his business, but within days after he started taking Prozac, I noticed a personality change in him. He developed severe insomnia, extreme fatigue, chills, racing heart, dry mouth, and upset stomach," testified LeAnne Westover, Shannon's widow. "Suicide was totally out of character for my husband. There was no note and no goodbye."[19]
Following his death, the Wilburys honored him by recording a version of "Runaway".[20] Jeff Lynne also co-produced Shannon's posthumous album,Rock On, released bySilvertone Records in 1991.[21]
Shannon was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999[22][20] and into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.[23]
A Del Shannon Memorial Scholarship Fund was set up following Shannon's death.[24]Coopersville, Michigan, holds an annual Del Shannon Car Show.[25][26][27]
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