Del Shannon
 Del
Shannon was born Charles Weedon Westover in Coopersville, Michigan,
on 30 December 1934, and began singing during his Army
service.
Following his discharge he moved to Battle Creek in Michigan
where he held down a daytime job selling carpets while he worked at
night in a nightclub (working under the name Charlie Johnson and the
Big Little Show Band).
A local WGRV DJ heard Westover's work and introduced him to
industry contacts, resulting in a recording deal with Big Top
Records. Now known as Del Shannon (the first name taken from the
owner of the carpet store where he worked), he was shipped to New
York to record - with disappointing results.
Deciding he could do no worse, he worked with pianist Max Crook
on some original material. Within three hours they had formulated
the idea for Runaway (including the instrumental break
played on a musitron - an early forerunner of the synth), and
others including Jodie (its future flipside).
Runaway was released as a single in America, and sold a
million copies on its way to the top of the charts in April 1961. Hats
Off To Larry was issued in August 1961. A clone of the previous
chart-topper, it soared to Number Five in the US.
Early in 1962, Hey! Little Girl became a Number Two
British hit after an abysmal American showing in the Top 40. This
was followed by minor hit Cry Myself To Sleep, one of
several tracks recorded in Nashville with back-up support from The
Jordanaires.
This was a mere hiccup; when another track from those sessions
was issued - Swiss Maid - it returned him to Number Two in
the UK (with a poorer showing in the American Top 70).
Del Shannon's first single of 1963 was Little Town Flirt
which, once again, was a bigger hit in Britain (Number Four) than in
America (Number 12). His second single of the year - Two Kinds
of Teardrops - reached the UK Top Five, but only managed the
Top 50 in his home country. Shannon toured Britain with Johnny
Tillotson and Dusty Springfield,
before supporting The Beatles at London's
Royal Albert Hall.
 It
was at this time that Shannon told the Fab Four he intended to
record a cover version of their song From Me To You.
Despite objection from John Lennon, who
realised Shannon could deny them an American hit, Shannon went ahead
and recorded the song in London prior to returning to the States.
His version was released simultaneously with The Beatles'
original, holding off their American chart entry for six months.
Hence, Del Shannon was the first artist to chart a Lennon/McCartney
composition in America. The single was flipped for release in the UK
where Two Silhouettes became the A-side and reached the Top
30.
Shannon - who suffered from extreme mood swings all his life -
admitted at this point in his career that he had a tough time coping
with his success and his fear almost crippled him. He turned to
alcohol.
His career plodded on but by 1969 Shannon had all but given up
and was concentrating instead on producing other artists like Brian
Hyland. He returned to the studio during the late 70s/early 80s
but with little success.
He went on to earn a living performing on the lucrative nostalgia
packages that toured Britain and America - but that wasn't enough.
Del Shannon was unable to accept the role he now played as a 'golden
oldie'.
Shannon's first wife, his high school sweetheart Shirley, walked
out on him in 1984 after more than 30 years of marriage. Although he
re-married, he never really recovered from the failure of his first
marriage.
At the height of his depression he shot himself in the head with
a .22 calibre rifle at his Santa Clarita home in California on 8
February 1990. The 55-year-old was discovered by his wife, Bonnie.
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