Jackie De Shannon
June 1956, when she released Baby Honey and I'm
Crazy Darlin' under the name of Sherry Lee on the Mar-Vel
label, Jackie DeShannon (real name Sharon Myers) has been an
artist to be reckoned with.
This Kentucky-born singer/songwriter is best-known in the UK
for her chart successes Needles and Pins and When You
Walk In The Room, which were both British 60s hits for The
Searchers. These two songs were hits in the US for Jackie
herself.
As a writer she scored hits with Brenda Lee (Dum Dum),
The Carpenters (Boat To Sail), The Byrds (Don't
Doubt Yourself Babe), Marianne Faithfull (Come & Stay
With Me) and The Searchers (When You Walk In The Room).
Growing up on a 500 acre Kentucky farm, DeShannon learned about
music from her parents. Her mother had her own radio show and both
parents performed around the Mid-West. By the time the 1960s
rolled round she was a blonde pop diva with a cool, seductive
voice, and her talent as a songwriter was much in demand.
She was also a self-assured producer, manoeuvring - with some
difficulty - through the male-dominated LA studio scene.
One of the best female vocalists of the 60s, Jackie recorded a
wide range of songs herself, from such composers as Jack Nitzsche
and Sonny Bono, Bobby Womack, Chip Taylor and early
Carole Bayer
Sager and Toni Wine. She was one of the first to record a
song by Jamie Robertson (The Weight), and she co-wrote Put
A Little Love In My Heart with Jimmy Holiday and Randy Myers.
From sessions with Bacharach and David - who at that time were
riding high with their string of hits for Dionne Warwick - What
The World Needs Now charted up to Number Seven in the US, and
was later used over the closing titles of the movie Bob and
Carol and Ted and Alice.
In addition to her musical career, Jackie has starred in many
US TV productions as an actress.
DeShannon returned to hit-making form in 1981 when she co-wrote
Kim Carnes's chart-topping Bette Davis Eyes.
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