Del Shannon (30 December 1934–8 February 1990) (born Charles Weedon Westover in Coopersville, Michigan) was an American rock and roller who launched into fame with the No. 1 hit “Runaway” (1961) which introduced the musitron, an early form of the synthesizer played by “Runaway” co-writer and keyboard player Max Crook.

Shannon followed up with “Hats Off to Larry”, another big hit, and the less popular “So Long, Baby”, another song of breakup bitterness. “Little Town Flirt”, released in 1962 reached #12 in 1963 as did the album of the same name. After these hits, Shannon was unable to keep his momentum in the US, but became a sensation in England. In 1963, he became the first American artist to record a cover version of a Beatles song with “From Me to You”.

Shannon returned to the charts in 1964 with “Handy Man”, “Do You Wanna Dance”, “Keep Searchin’”, and ... read more »