Del Shannon (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990) was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter. Ηε was born as Charles Weedon Westover in Michigan.
On January 21, 1961, he recorded "Runaway", and released it as a single in February 1961. The song was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit.
It reached #1 in the Billboard chart in April 1961. It is #466 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time from 2004. Del Shannon re-recorded the song in 1967 under the name "Runaway '67".
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.
"Little Town Flirt", in 1962 (with Bob Babbitt), reached #12 in 1963, as did the album of the same name.
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 Beatles song. "From Me to You" charted in the US before the Beatles.
Suffering from depression, Shannon committed suicide on February 8, 1990, with a .22 caliber rifle at his home in Santa Clarita, California.
Shannon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and his contributions have been recognised by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
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