Monday, December 30, 2013

Del Shannon was born this day in 1934


Del Shannon was born this day in 1934 in Grand Rapids, MI.  He was born Charles Weedon Westover and changed to his stage name at the time of his record deal with Bigtop Records in 1960.  His biggest hit came the following year in 1961 with "Runaway" which hit the top of the charts.  He followed with hits like "Hats Off To Larry" and "Little Town Flirt".  He's also the first American artist to cover a Beatles song.  His version of "From Me To You" hit the US charts before The Beatles original version did.  Here's a look back at some of his great tunes...

"Runaway"

"Little Town Flirt"

"Hats Off To Larry"

"From Me To You" (Beatles cover)

"She" (also covered by The Monkees)

"Sea Of Love" (produced by Tom Petty)