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Inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
Michigan Connection
Del Shannon was born Charles Westover in Grand Rapids on December 30,
1934. He grew up in nearby Coopersville.
Band
Formed first band in 1959 called the Midnight Ramblers.
Notables
Served in the army from 1956 to 1958. His early 1962 song "Cry Myself
to Sleep" was the chief inspiration for Elton John's hit
"Crocodile Rock." Shannon played with the Beatles in 1963 on a
European tour. Shannon became the first American artist to record and
chart a Lennon-McCartney tune in the U. S., he recorded "From Me to
You" and it reached #77 in Billboard in the summer of 1963, six
months before the Beatles chart debut with "I Want to Hold Your
Hand." More than two hundred artists have covered
"Runaway."
Big Hit
Shannon co-wrote and sang "Runaway," which reached #1 on the
charts in 1961 for four weeks in both the U. S. and the U. K. and sold
80,000 copies a day in the U. S.
Find out more about Del
Shannon and other musical Michiganians in
Makin'
Music: Michigan's
Rock & Roll Legacy.
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