@@TSM-908 So cool! Thanks for the info! I am not a musician & I guess I always assumed it was some sort of seldom used, "not-for-church" setting on the Hammond organ! Lol!😅
For Rob's question (What was happening in the States while the British Invasion was beginning?), there were 4 primary popular music sounds: (a) folk becoming folk-rock (Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Joan Baez, Mamas and the Papas, etc.); (b) surf music (Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Dick Dale, etc.); (c) the Motown sound evolving out of 1950s African-American groups (Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, and so many more); and (d) the rediscovered blues sounds of Texas, Memphis, Chicago, the Delta (Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson, B.B. King, and so many more). The British Invasion was fueled by the spirit of 1950s rock 'n roll rebels and the blues.
This came out years before the British invasion, Jay. It was pure American rock and roll from the early 60's. I remember dancing to it in seventh grade at the Friday night teen recreation night held in my neighborhood. Such good times and good memories.
Charles Westover (AKA Del Shannon) was anything but a rival of The British Invasion of the 60s, He was an influencer. From Michigan, he was one of the first American singer - songwriter/ guitarist of the early 60s; pre- Beatles. One of rock and rolls' rock legends. He actually covered a Beatles song before they hit big in America and headlined a tour in Great Britain while the Beatles were getting famous, pre 1964. One of the most iconic songs of the early 60s....thanks for a super reaction.
Beatles fame in the UK began in 1962, they were already huge by 1963, but didn’t really hit it big in the US until 1964. Del Shannon’s song definitely pre-dated that, and you are absolutely correct, he was an influencer.
Influencer. His hits were this in 1961 and he charted fairly regularly into 1964. He kept releasing songs through the rest of the 60s but he IS the definition of the early 60s artists that were left behind by the British Invasion. I highly credit him as one of the artists that brought rock back in - in 1961 after it had been in a shamed lull from 1958-1961. While the big songs of those years are classics. Most of the Rock memories from those down years were sanitized Pop, not the Rock n Roll heritage and force of the mid 1954 to early 1958 material. Del kept putting out songs through 70s but those didn’t chart, and he had “Sea of Love” hit the top 40 in the early 80s. Wonderful artist, thanks for playing, oh, And “Tutti Frutti” - 1957. Original rock era.
He played with Hank Williams before going solo, hence his unique sound and perfect falsetto. Del also gave Bob Seger his start. Total local hero who died tragically.
Jay, this came out before the British Invasion. And American and British rock were not mutually exclusive. While the radio stations played British rock, they were playing American bands and singers at the same time. They coexisted and influenced each other.
Yeah I was thinking the same. To me this is still very late 50s rock. The very early 60s was still in that vain to an extent. You didn't truly pull out of 50s like rock until '63, especially '64, when the Bristish invasion truly took off.
There's a few songs that have that falsetto. Lighting Strikes Me by Lou Christie, The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens, Big Girls Don't Cry by Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, Diana by Paul Anka Little Richard was the 50's and a little 60's
@@tomlemery8490 then there is later stuff in the same style, like Billy Joel River of Dreams. I love Joel's use of falsetto and how he updates 50s styles.
This song was Del Shannon's biggest hit song ever!!! The song went all the way to hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for 4 weeks in a row during the early summer of 1961. This song was used as the opening theme for the 1980s crime drama series, Crime Story. The star of that series was the late, great Dennis Farina. This song is a banger indeed!!!
It's re-appearance on "Crime Story" was a huge comeback boost to Shannon's career. Saw him on David Letterman as the show was taking off. He seemed to be having a blast playing live.
Ah Crime Story. One of the greatest short run, 2 seasons, TV show EVER. Was on mostly Tue nights, moved to Fri for a while then back to Tue for 2nd season. Back then Tue night was a "off night" no practice anywhere for the sport I was in. AND not a party night. So we got hooked on Crime Story. One of the best assemblies of emerging Manly Man actors ever. Everyone has to watch this with NO SPOLIERS. You have to watch it cold as the final episode comes close to the announcement by Radar of death of Henry Blake. I can't watch promos anymore as they all show you the most important things in a show or move. If you know Crime Story, you can imagine 5 20something guys watching the final scene, WITH OUT ANY pre knowledge!!!!!!! WOW we still talk about it 40 years later.
Incidentally, Tom Petty mentions this song specifically in his song "Runnin Down a Dream." There was also a lot of speculation that Del Shannon would be the logical choice to join the traveling Wilburys to replace Roy Orbison after his death--but Del committed suicide shortly before they reconvened to record their 2nd album.
There's a 1990 interview with George Harrison, on Countdown. Of Roy's death, the interviewer said; "I understand there was some talk about replacement." George replied; "It was talk in the newspapers, mainly." "We never talked about it, because you can't replace him."
When still young and married, this was one of the songs my husband and his band mates played. I can still see my firstborn at 15 months, dancing. She turns 47 in December. Good memories.
This is one of the greatest songs of the rock era. Other hits by him include: "Hats Off To Larry,c", "Little Town Flirt". Interesting Del Shannon story: After Roy Orbison died, Shannon was chosen to replace him in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. Then soon after, Shannon passed away. The group then disbanded for fear of some sort of curse.
Shannon committed suicide in Feb 1990. The Wilburys reconvened for the 2nd album in March 1990. Though his death may have hit some of them hard (especially Tom Petty) there was no curse fear, they just went back to their own careers at that point.
The instrument with the high-pitched sound was called a "musitron", an electric keyboard that Del Shannon used in a number of his songs. His falsetto voice was a staple of his songs. Try "Hats Off to Larry", "Little Town Flirt", "His Latest Flame" (the Elvis hit), "Keep Searching", "Handy Man". There were just so many songs by Del. He was awesome at covering other people's hits. A later, underrated song of his was "Sea of Love", the classic Phil Phillips song that Del made in 1981. I was 11 years old when "Runaway" hit the airwaves. What a great, different sound it was at that time.
This song is on the soundtrack of the 1973 George Lucas movie "American Graffiti," which I HIGHLY recommend for one of your movie nights. You'll see future stars including Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, and Richard Dreyfuss. Definite must watch. This is one of my favorite songs on the soundtrack. Love the reaction. Peace!
I just watched American Graffiti two nights ago. I'm not sure how many times I've seen it over the years, it is a awesome throwback to a Great era in American music and in American life. The casting is awesome.
That “W-w-w-wah” in the chorus is what is colloquially known as a ‘hook’ in the music biz. A strong hook is what makes a song memorable. And that along with the synth melody are two of the catchiest hooks in the history of pop music.
Bonnie Raitt did a cover of this song on The Midnight Special back in the 70’s. It is fantastic! Bonnie kills it and there is a great harmonica solo too!! Gotta check it out!
A simple song, but one of the greatest in Rock and Roll History. The protagonist's pain is palpable in Del's amazing vocal. For some reason, a lot of my favorite songs are sad, and this is a powerful reminder of what might have been in our lives.
It would be great if you covered the girl groups of the 60's. (The Shirelles "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Dixies "Chapel of Love" - The Shangri Las - "Walking in the Sand" and "Leader of the Pack" - The Angels "My Boyfriends Back" - The Chiffons “One Fine Day,” “He’s So Fine,” “Sweet-Talking Guy and of course, The Supremes). During the 60's we had the British Invasion, Girl Groups, Motown and Rock (like CCR). Our radios were on all the time.
This could open the door for Lou Christie and his string of rockin' falsetto-featuring hits "Lightin' Strikes", "Two Faces Have I" and "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". If you like Del Shannon then you'll like Lou Christie, his output was from mid to late 60s. Del also has "Little Town Flirt", which has a great remake from Altered Images in the 80s, and "Hats Off To Larry" which is the 1960s version of a diss track "Keep Searchin" by Del is also a great track.. "Tutti Frutti" was from 1957 with Little Richard. The thing to keep in mind with these songs from the 50s and 60s was that pop radio was predicated on a 2:45 length and very rarely would go even a little bit beyond that and that would be under 3 minutes. Another great male singer from the 60s is Gene Pitney with the great story songs "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "24 Hours From Tulsa" and the moody "Town Without Pity" and "It Hurts To Be In Love" plus more.
One of the very rare albums i was never able to buy second hand yet affordable for me. Del Shannon was huge for a period in rock and roll indeed for me it was jr. high school days
The British Invasion was inspired 100% by early American rock n roll. Del Shannon wrote a great song that Peter and Gordon made a big hit , it was titled "I go to Pieces". Most of the British Invasion groups covered many many early American rock and roll hits. Great reaction. 👍🙃🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧
Written by Del Shannon and Max Crook. Max is the one who invented the Musitron, the keyboard sound that you're hearing on this song. This song came out in 1961 and the British Invasion started mostly at the very beginning of 1964. Tutti Frutti was 1955.
This is about a guy whose girl leaves him, and he is left to wonder what went wrong. A lot of Shannon's songs were about broken relationships. He once said he wrote the words to this about himself because he was forever running away from relationships. Queen and Paul Rodgers produced a version during The Cosmos Rocks sessions, with Brian May playing the musitron ,an early synthesizer, bridge solo section on guitar in his distinctive style.
That was an absolutely delightful reaction. You guys are always so fun. That look on Amber's face when it shifted from the minor key verse into the major key and he put a bit more grit in his voice and then it led into that turn around with the falsetto and just the sheer look of joy. This just gets to me too. I mean this came out before I was born but only slightly and by the time I was able to listen to music you still heard it quite a bit but you could tell it was older. But not quite old enough to be my parents' generation. But anyway I forgot how cool this was man I haven't listened to this in forever. And if you chance to listen to it again, check out that stand up bass. I mean in general music of this period had the vocal riding way out on top of the rest of the band in the mix, so it takes a bit to kind of adjust to that, but that was true of almost all music at that time whether it was Roy Orbison or Elvis Presley or whatever just everything. Wasn't really until almost early '70s where they were buried a little bit into the mix and although the Beatles kind of led the way on that and I'm sure some others but suffice it to say, every time I hear these mixes back when they still used acoustic bases, and a lot of the early Presley stuff is like that any of the Little Richard stuff you've checked out is like that and really it was all across the board because electric bases at least in anything but extremely rare applications didn't really exist that much in the 1950s and before. And they were still used heavily throughout the sixties. But that pretty much stopped in the late sixties if not the mid 60s
This song charted on Billboard Hot 100 on March 6, 1961 and it went all the way to number 1 for 4 weeks and it was his first chart single and he had 25 hit singles and he died of a self inflicted gunshot wound on February 8, 1990.
I was 11 when it came. Listened to lots of 50s songs my brothers did. In fact my brother 6 years older introduced me to the Beatles and am a fan to this day.
My parents had this on 7” Single. Alongside Elvis, Dave Clarke 5, The Honeycombs. It came to life for me and my friends when we were on a school trip to Paris and a busker sang this for us when he noticed English kids on the metro. Magical
I know you don't like short songs but the Box Tops THE LETTER is a great short #1 song to introduce this great group from the 60's. I love KEEP SEARCHING by Del Shannon as well. Brings back teen years memories.
Del Shannon's guitar riffs for this song was different than other songs in this time era, plus the lyrics very deep, plus the synthesizer solo is killer in this
Whenever I hear this beautiful song, I think about by grandfather. He used to love it, as do I. Thank you so much for reacting to this, it brought a tear to my eye.
This song was the opening theme song for a 1986 television drama produced by Michael Mann called "Crime Story". It starred the late, great Dennis Farina. Mann gave us "Miami Vice" but the programmers at NBC put this show up against Bruce Willis' "Moonlighting", which was an immensely popular show. Consequently, "Crime Story" only lasted two seasons. But the opening with "Runaway" was just awesome.
You took my comment right out of my mouth. Sadly, "Crime Story"(or at least the first season before it kinda began losing its' way), was possibly the greatest cop show ever. Dennis Farina was actually a real-life Chicago Police Detective for 18 years, but when the starring role of "Crime Story" was offered to him, he left that job and never went back. The success of Dennis Farina's acting career was in part because he was able to bring that genuine Chicago Cop grittiness to his roles.
Yes! One of my all time favourites! Del is fantastic. Little Town Flirt next please.! Total banger. And Bonnie Raitt does a KILLER cover of THIS song. Well worth checking out.
Product of the 70's Teen of the 80's that me. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. Grew up on Everything from rock to soul r&b blues and everything in between.
@@TripletDad3 Absolutely....I always think of "Crime Story" with Dennis Farina when I hear this song....really good show....but I'm old enough I remember this song from the 60's.......
Always loved this song by Del Shannon, never tire of hearing it. Other great songs include Hats Off To Larry, I Go To Pieces, Little Town Flirt and the lesser known You Never Talked About Me!
My mom used to play Top 40 music on the radio during the day while my dad was at work. This was the first song I learned to sing along with -- I was 2 1/2 years old. I remember it didn't sound like any other song because of the outer space sounds (as I learned later, the synthesizer).
Awesome guys. There was a 70's band called Paper Lace. They have a few great "story" songs you might be interested in checking out. Billy Don't be a Hero and The Night Chicago Died were all over the radio for a lot of years.
Back in the 60's, in grade school there was an older student that had a band and played Runaway to a "T". He had the electric guitar, pure talent, and his band mates (older boys) had the equipment. He was there only a year, but seeing and hearing him changed things, even some other boys started a band. Runaway is as iconic a Pre-British Invasion American Rock and Roll song as there could be. It was on the radio all the time, and everyone liked hearing it. Say it again, a Great American Rock and Roll song. :)
Del was hit as hard as the other American acts when The Beatles stormed the shores. Ironically, he was the first to have a Beatles song, From Me To You, in the charts, even before The Beatles hit American radio.
Jay and Amber. Love you guys. Music history. Del Shannon was before the British Invasion. The British Invasion started with the Beatles in 1964. This was 1961 which was about three years before. The British Invasion really didn’t take over American rock and roll. It helped to move it along and produced new artists.
I lived through this era (yeah, I'm old! 😊), and the older American music referred to is the 50s street corner sound of groups like the Franklin Valli & 4 Seasons.
This made me think of another very popular group from that era, The Everly Brothers, who did fun catchy songs. Try, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Problems, which was the intro song used by our local radio station for their call-in talk show, Problem Corner, for I think about 30 years.
This was actually a big influence on a lot of British Invasion groups that came out right after; in fact, the UK band Small Faces did a somewhat more heavy-handed cover of this a couple years after this came out. And the solo in the middle of the song is a keyboard, possibly a Farfisa organ (they were popular with a lot of bands in the early-mid 60s).
I was born in the summer of love (67) but I remember my uncles and aunts talking about this subject. From there prospective it went like this. Every few generations you have 4 or 5 greats to take you to the next set of greats and if you will all think back to the winter of 59 we lost three in one horrible night. To them it was inevitable that our rock culture was going to take time to recover and the brits where able to step up and take the rains while our new stars where in the wings warming up.
I knew Max Crook the man that did the keyboards in that song. It was the first synthesised keyboard that he made with parts of other instruments, tape players, and kitchen appliances. Max was known as the "father of the rock and roll keyboard" and he was the number 1 keyboardist in the world at one time. Even into his 70's he was one of the best in the world. I know, he used to bring his keyboard to our home and play for us. He was AMAZING! Unfortunately he passed a couple of years ago from cancer.
I first heard this song it was the opening theme song to a show called CRIME STORY (1986). Ever since then I love this song. The show was only 2 seasons but was so good.
This song is a perfect example of early sixties pop music, and a number one hit for Del. This song is well known internationally as well. You would love "Keep Searchin" - killer falsetto on that one.
This takes me back to my childhood. My Dad loved rock & roll and Del Shannon was one of his favourites, along with Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. He passed away two years ago and I miss him dreadfully. I’m going to listen to all his favourites today and remember him with joy. Thank you. X
Your dad sounds like mine with musical tastes! He loves The Big O, and saw him in '86, an dhe was actually in the Marines with the Everlys, even serving them chow in the canteen. He said one of them asked for an extra portion, and my dad refused (regulations). He actually pulled the "Do you know who I am?" with my dad, who just shrugged and said "It'll be my ass, not yours." He still liked them, though.
This song is the definition of classic... classic singing, classic keyboards. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't recognize this song after hearing it, it never fades in the mind.
Love Del Shannon's music. I grew up listening to the awesome 60's music. Graduated in 1965. I still have his vinyl records in my collection. I still play them on my stereo system. ❤
Runaway is a favorite of mine. Few months ago this song was revived in Dexter: New Blood. It's not the first time Del Shannon's Runaway has been used in a series. Crime Story starring Dennis Farina featured Runaway as well. I know there are other shows that have used the song so I expect we will be hearing Del Shannon's Runaway for years to come.
Great! The guy who played the sax used to be in a band that played in the same club every weekend, here in Mobile for years, and they played Runaway every time they took the stage. Even years after the hit, he still played it flawlessly. Good times!
Great reactions. This is my all time favorite Del Shannon song. When I heard it for the first time within the first 5 secs I knew it was gonna be a favorite. :)
Tutti Fruitti was 50s. Little Richard. Runaway definitely still sounds like 50s rock. The British Invasion absorbed a lot of 50s rock & roll then just sang it back to us in English accents. But the Beatles were so popular, they felt they could experiment with sounds and the public would follow them. Their experimentation freed up a lot of artists to try all kinds of different sounds.
In terms of musical eras, the decades often have had some overlap, I would contend. The late '50s and early '60s were a period of what Amber calls the soda shop rock and roll. What people usually think of as The Sixties began in '64 with the Beatles and lasted through the early '70s when disco took over. Runaway was still in that soda pop era, for sure. Great song! Thanks for sharing your reaction.
He invented the Musitron, an adapted version of the 1947 creation the clavioline. It was an electronic keyboard that gave space-age sound effects to popular music decades before the synthesizer. Shannon played nights in the Battle Creek, Michigan club the Hi-Lo as Charlie Johnson and the Big Little Show Band.
Del Shannon was huge in the '60's! You might want to also check out: "Little Town Flirt", "Keep Searchin' (Follow the Sun)" and "Stranger in Town". Talk about someone who could sing falsetto....Del was completely amazing!
The Beatles, and most of the other British bands, were emulating the American Rock and Roll sound. They loved it, and wanted to make it! They were making Rock and Roll, the way they knew how, with their own additional influences!
I love this song. It also gives me the "WILLIES" after they used the song in the TV show "DEXTER" for the character Kurt Caldwell-"The Runaway Killer" He was a serial killer of runaway teenage girls.
A classic. Also this was the soundtrack for the crime drama series Crime Story, set in 50s which had a lot of big TV/Film stars in some of their earlier roles 😎
Run Around Sue I Go to Pieces Hats off to Larry Little Town Flirt Keep Searchin' My oh my. Pre British Invasion, American singer. Love this song, takes me right back to a great time in my life. The beautiful orchestra backing him, absolutely accentuates his wonderful vocals. Great reaction. Buckets of Maple Syrup love from Canada ❤️❤️ 🇨🇦 🇨🇦
I love this song. The Traveling Wilburys did a version. So did the Beach Boys, Queen (with Paul Rodgers) and Dion. Tom Petty was a huge Del Shannon fan and produced a record for him. This song is one of many great early 60s and late 50s songs featured in the movie American Graffiti. You should check that out on your movie channel!
The Traveling Wilburys was ready to offer Shannon a place in the group, but sadly before they could he committed suicide because he thought he had been a failure in life. So sad.
This was a truly ancient song to me, and it was amazing to me that something so old was still remembered that I could discover it on radio in the early 80's! The single was from 1961, and I was born in '67... Even The Beatles were ancient to me when I discovered them in the mid-70's! I wasn't even in my teens! Today, how many think of "classic" pop music by any artist/group that got famous during the MTV-era (80's+), and then got still more rotated other places, as being truly old? So many artists keep sampling them, that they never fade. I mean, Prince's "Purple Rain" was released in 1984, 38 years ago! Queen, Michael Jackson's early songs, Beastie Boys, early hip-hop singles! None have aged nearly as much to the new generations as the 60's music initially did to me back then, who was actually born in 1967! You guys truly live in a blessed time, as such, when all music from whatever decade is so easily available! :)
One of my absolute favorite singers!! I had such a crush on him!! He was the only rival for my Ricky Nelson crush!! Del still gets to me, all these years later!!
![KRK - ชนิสรา Ft.WanMai , N/A [Official MV] Prod. By Sakarin](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/C-WMwwYobcU/mqdefault.jpg)
Fun Fact: This was the first song to hit the top 40 to feature an electronic synthesizer for a solo instrument.
Nice, I was wondering if anyone else knew that!
Was that synthesizer solo used in the Lost in Space theme. They sound a lot alike.
@@TSM-908 Thanks, I just listened to it on youtube. Now I remember. It sounds a bit like the runaway melody at times.
Oh that was an electronic synthesizer! Great sound for that song too!
@@TSM-908 So cool! Thanks for the info! I am not a musician & I guess I always assumed it was some sort of seldom used, "not-for-church" setting on the Hammond organ! Lol!😅
For Rob's question (What was happening in the States while the British Invasion was beginning?), there were 4 primary popular music sounds: (a) folk becoming folk-rock (Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Joan Baez, Mamas and the Papas, etc.); (b) surf music (Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, the Ventures, Dick Dale, etc.); (c) the Motown sound evolving out of 1950s African-American groups (Martha and the Vandellas, the Supremes, and so many more); and (d) the rediscovered blues sounds of Texas, Memphis, Chicago, the Delta (Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Son House, Sonny Boy Williamson, B.B. King, and so many more). The British Invasion was fueled by the spirit of 1950s rock 'n roll rebels and the blues.
Facts 🎉
would you add the Rockabilly sound like in American Grafiti?
This came out years before the British invasion, Jay. It was pure American rock and roll from the early 60's. I remember dancing to it in seventh grade at the Friday night teen recreation night held in my neighborhood. Such good times and good memories.
A far more sensible time. I was born in 1958. I think "Runaway" was selling something like 80,000 copies a day or a week in 1961!
He sort of reminds me of Jay and The Americans as well...
Charles Westover (AKA Del Shannon) was anything but a rival of The British Invasion of the 60s, He was an influencer. From Michigan, he was one of the first American singer - songwriter/ guitarist of the early 60s; pre- Beatles. One of rock and rolls' rock legends. He actually covered a Beatles song before they hit big in America and headlined a tour in Great Britain while the Beatles were getting famous, pre 1964. One of the most iconic songs of the early 60s....thanks for a super reaction.
His full name was Charles Weedon Westover and he was born in 1934 not 1939 as the PR people said.
Beatles fame in the UK began in 1962, they were already huge by 1963, but didn’t really hit it big in the US until 1964. Del Shannon’s song definitely pre-dated that, and you are absolutely correct, he was an influencer.
Influencer. His hits were this in 1961 and he charted fairly regularly into 1964. He kept releasing songs through the rest of the 60s but he IS the definition of the early 60s artists that were left behind by the British Invasion.
I highly credit him as one of the artists that brought rock back in - in 1961 after it had been in a shamed lull from 1958-1961. While the big songs of those years are classics. Most of the Rock memories from those down years were sanitized Pop, not the Rock n Roll heritage and force of the mid 1954 to early 1958 material.
Del kept putting out songs through 70s but those didn’t chart, and he had “Sea of Love” hit the top 40 in the early 80s.
Wonderful artist, thanks for playing, oh, And “Tutti Frutti” - 1957. Original rock era.
He was from Coopersville to be exact. There's a Del Shannon museum there
He played with Hank Williams before going solo, hence his unique sound and perfect falsetto. Del also gave Bob Seger his start. Total local hero who died tragically.
This was released in 61, a little before the major British invasion which really took hold in 63/64. Del Shannon's falsetto was amazing though
Jay, this came out before the British Invasion. And American and British rock were not mutually exclusive. While the radio stations played British rock, they were playing American bands and singers at the same time. They coexisted and influenced each other.
I have heard this song many times in the last 10 years
Yeah I was thinking the same. To me this is still very late 50s rock. The very early 60s was still in that vain to an extent. You didn't truly pull out of 50s like rock until '63, especially '64, when the Bristish invasion truly took off.
There's a few songs that have that falsetto. Lighting Strikes Me by Lou Christie, The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens, Big Girls Don't Cry by Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, Diana by Paul Anka
Little Richard was the 50's and a little 60's
@@tomlemery8490 then there is later stuff in the same style, like Billy Joel River of Dreams.
I love Joel's use of falsetto and how he updates 50s styles.
This song was Del Shannon's biggest hit song ever!!! The song went all the way to hit the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stay there for 4 weeks in a row during the early summer of 1961. This song was used as the opening theme for the 1980s crime drama series, Crime Story. The star of that series was the late, great Dennis Farina. This song is a banger indeed!!!
It's re-appearance on "Crime Story" was a huge comeback boost to Shannon's career. Saw him on David Letterman as the show was taking off. He seemed to be having a blast playing live.
Ah Crime Story.
One of the greatest short run, 2 seasons, TV show EVER.
Was on mostly Tue nights, moved to Fri for a while then back to Tue for 2nd season.
Back then Tue night was a "off night" no practice anywhere for the sport I was in. AND not a party night. So we got hooked on Crime Story. One of the best assemblies of emerging Manly Man actors ever.
Everyone has to watch this with NO SPOLIERS. You have to watch it cold as the final episode comes close to the announcement by Radar of death of Henry Blake.
I can't watch promos anymore as they all show you the most important things in a show or move. If you know Crime Story, you can imagine 5 20something guys watching the final scene, WITH OUT ANY pre knowledge!!!!!!! WOW we still talk about it 40 years later.
Don’t forget Dexter
Loved Crime Story. 80s were definitely retro 50s
Incidentally, Tom Petty mentions this song specifically in his song "Runnin Down a Dream."
There was also a lot of speculation that Del Shannon would be the logical choice to join the traveling Wilburys to replace Roy Orbison after his death--but Del committed suicide shortly before they reconvened to record their 2nd album.
First verse of Runnin' Down a Dream: "Had the radio on, I was drivin'
Trees went by, me and Del were singin' little Runaway
I was flyin'"
The Wilburys also recorded "Runaway" as a bonus track on volume 3. It's great, of course.
Recently heard another song on a deep tracks station that also mentions Del, but I can't remember, its gonna drive me bonkers😡
I had always heard Dave Stewart was the top consideration to replace Roy.
There's a 1990 interview with George Harrison, on Countdown. Of Roy's death, the interviewer said; "I understand there was some talk about replacement." George replied; "It was talk in the newspapers, mainly." "We never talked about it, because you can't replace him."
When still young and married, this was one of the songs my husband and his band mates played. I can still see my firstborn at 15 months, dancing. She turns 47 in December. Good memories.
This is one of the greatest songs of the rock era.
Other hits by him include:
"Hats Off To Larry,c", "Little Town Flirt".
Interesting Del Shannon story:
After Roy Orbison died, Shannon was chosen to replace him in the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys. Then soon after, Shannon passed away. The group then disbanded for fear of some sort of curse.
Little Town Flirt was definitely an influence on the Beatles
Shannon committed suicide in Feb 1990. The Wilburys reconvened for the 2nd album in March 1990. Though his death may have hit some of them hard (especially Tom Petty) there was no curse fear, they just went back to their own careers at that point.
Agree with checking out Hats Off to Larry, and Little Town Flirt.
I didn’t know this.😮
Also the song Keep Searchin'. Another great one by him.
The instrument with the high-pitched sound was called a "musitron", an electric keyboard that Del Shannon used in a number of his songs. His falsetto voice was a staple of his songs. Try "Hats Off to Larry", "Little Town Flirt", "His Latest Flame" (the Elvis hit), "Keep Searching", "Handy Man". There were just so many songs by Del. He was awesome at covering other people's hits. A later, underrated song of his was "Sea of Love", the classic Phil Phillips song that Del made in 1981. I was 11 years old when "Runaway" hit the airwaves. What a great, different sound it was at that time.
Jay & Amber, "Hats Off To Larry" and ""Little Town Flirt" were also hits.
Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down A Dream" mentions Del and "Little Runaway"
Del Shannon was the bridge that took us from Doo-Wop and soda pop shop music to modern rock music.
Beautifully put. I’m 70. Del Shannon was the BEST
Musitron?
This song is on the soundtrack of the 1973 George Lucas movie "American Graffiti," which I HIGHLY recommend for one of your movie nights. You'll see future stars including Harrison Ford, Ron Howard, and Richard Dreyfuss. Definite must watch. This is one of my favorite songs on the soundtrack. Love the reaction. Peace!
Susanna Somers in the T-Bird and Wolfman Jack on the radio
I have been recommending “American Graffiti” since they started their movie channel. I hope they get around to it soon.
I just watched American Graffiti two nights ago. I'm not sure how many times I've seen it over the years, it is a awesome throwback to a Great era in American music and in American life. The casting is awesome.
Please watch American Graffiti!!!
Yes! American Graffiti is a must see!!!
That “W-w-w-wah” in the chorus is what is colloquially known as a ‘hook’ in the music biz. A strong hook is what makes a song memorable. And that along with the synth melody are two of the catchiest hooks in the history of pop music.
Nailed it.
Bonnie Raitt did a cover of this song on The Midnight Special back in the 70’s. It is fantastic!
Bonnie kills it and there is a great harmonica solo too!! Gotta check it out!
Absolutely!
I was born in 1977 but grew up listening to 50s and 60s music with my dad. This brings back great memories ❤
Shades of a young man digging rock and roll back then. A top song from then. Thank you man!
A simple song, but one of the greatest in Rock and Roll History. The protagonist's pain is palpable in Del's amazing vocal. For some reason, a lot of my favorite songs are sad, and this is a powerful reminder of what might have been in our lives.
It would be great if you covered the girl groups of the 60's. (The Shirelles "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Dixies "Chapel of Love" - The Shangri Las - "Walking in the Sand" and "Leader of the Pack" - The Angels "My Boyfriends Back" - The Chiffons “One Fine Day,” “He’s So Fine,” “Sweet-Talking Guy and of course, The Supremes). During the 60's we had the British Invasion, Girl Groups, Motown and Rock (like CCR). Our radios were on all the time.
They're already done quite a few of these, Willowthegood.
Great suggestions ❤
Shirrels pre dated the British Invasion.
This could open the door for Lou Christie and his string of rockin' falsetto-featuring hits "Lightin' Strikes", "Two Faces Have I" and "I'm Gonna Make You Mine". If you like Del Shannon then you'll like Lou Christie, his output was from mid to late 60s. Del also has "Little Town Flirt", which has a great remake from Altered Images in the 80s, and "Hats Off To Larry" which is the 1960s version of a diss track "Keep Searchin" by Del is also a great track.. "Tutti Frutti" was from 1957 with Little Richard. The thing to keep in mind with these songs from the 50s and 60s was that pop radio was predicated on a 2:45 length and very rarely would go even a little bit beyond that and that would be under 3 minutes. Another great male singer from the 60s is Gene Pitney with the great story songs "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "24 Hours From Tulsa" and the moody "Town Without Pity" and "It Hurts To Be In Love" plus more.
Del Shannon is/was a legend, I'm so glad I followed my dad's taste in music.
Another early 60s heart throb was Lou Christi, who had a 4 octave range. Incredible voice. I loved Del Shannon. Great reaction.😊❤
Yes Lou Christy!!!
Love both Del and Lou.. amazing singers!
He can still hit the high notes
This is the stuff crossed the Atlantic and inspired British bands. Classic tune.
One of the very rare albums i was never able to buy second hand yet affordable for me. Del Shannon was huge for a period in rock and roll indeed for me it was jr. high school days
The British Invasion was inspired 100% by early American rock n roll. Del Shannon wrote a great song that Peter and Gordon made a big hit , it was titled "I go to Pieces". Most of the British Invasion groups covered many many early American rock and roll hits. Great reaction. 👍🙃🇨🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧
Pete and Gordon. Huge connection to The Beatles.
There was only one kind of American music, and those people got hated on.
My dad listened to these songs so naturally I grew up listening to them as well
The next oldie you should listen to is Neil Diamond’s “Solitary Man”. So smooth.
Little Richards music was late 50s
Have the done Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline yet?
Both Sweet Caroline and Solitary Man are great. So is Cracklin Rosie
I just researched and found they have NOT reacted to Sweet Caroline. I’m shocked!
Been listening to this song since 2005 when i heard it in a TV show
Written by Del Shannon and Max Crook. Max is the one who invented the Musitron, the keyboard sound that you're hearing on this song. This song came out in 1961 and the British Invasion started mostly at the very beginning of 1964. Tutti Frutti was 1955.
To clarify, Max Crook's Musitron was a highly modified Clavioline....an early form of synthesizer.
Ahh, i knew had to be a keyboard but then i'm like was it too early to be one.
@@neptune9 correct. I probably should have put that in the detail but I didn't want to leave an essay. Thanks for the addendum.
Does it have anything to do with the mellotron, like the Moody Blues had?
@@kentclark6420 no
Hey, a fantastic pop-song!! That stood the test of time... I´ve loved this one every time, since I first heard it as a kid. Aww! I love great music!
This is about a guy whose girl leaves him, and he is left to wonder what went wrong. A lot of Shannon's songs were about broken relationships. He once said he wrote the words to this about himself because he was forever running away from relationships. Queen and Paul Rodgers produced a version during The Cosmos Rocks sessions, with Brian May playing the musitron ,an early synthesizer, bridge solo section on guitar in his distinctive style.
Thanks for the information!
I love the Queen & Paul Rodgers version, almost as much as the original.
th-cam.com/video/RokfOT-_-eI/w-d-xo.html
For the most modern one..........
That was an absolutely delightful reaction. You guys are always so fun. That look on Amber's face when it shifted from the minor key verse into the major key and he put a bit more grit in his voice and then it led into that turn around with the falsetto and just the sheer look of joy. This just gets to me too. I mean this came out before I was born but only slightly and by the time I was able to listen to music you still heard it quite a bit but you could tell it was older. But not quite old enough to be my parents' generation. But anyway I forgot how cool this was man I haven't listened to this in forever. And if you chance to listen to it again, check out that stand up bass. I mean in general music of this period had the vocal riding way out on top of the rest of the band in the mix, so it takes a bit to kind of adjust to that, but that was true of almost all music at that time whether it was Roy Orbison or Elvis Presley or whatever just everything. Wasn't really until almost early '70s where they were buried a little bit into the mix and although the Beatles kind of led the way on that and I'm sure some others but suffice it to say, every time I hear these mixes back when they still used acoustic bases, and a lot of the early Presley stuff is like that any of the Little Richard stuff you've checked out is like that and really it was all across the board because electric bases at least in anything but extremely rare applications didn't really exist that much in the 1950s and before. And they were still used heavily throughout the sixties. But that pretty much stopped in the late sixties if not the mid 60s
This song charted on Billboard Hot 100 on March 6, 1961 and it went all the way to number 1 for 4 weeks and it was his first chart single and he had 25 hit singles and he died of a self inflicted gunshot wound on February 8, 1990.
He suffered terribly from depression
I was 11 when it came. Listened to lots of 50s songs my brothers did. In fact my brother 6 years older introduced me to the Beatles and am a fan to this day.
Sounded great on my transistor radio.
My parents had this on 7”
Single. Alongside Elvis, Dave Clarke 5, The Honeycombs. It came to life for me and my friends when we were on a school trip to Paris and a busker sang this for us when he noticed English kids on the metro. Magical
I know you don't like short songs but the Box Tops THE LETTER is a great short #1 song to introduce this great group from the 60's. I love KEEP SEARCHING by Del Shannon as well. Brings back teen years memories.
Yep! ❤️
A must listen!! One of my favorite all-time song!!
Del Shannon's guitar riffs for this song was different than other songs in this time era, plus the lyrics very deep, plus the synthesizer solo is killer in this
Check out Louis Cardenas cover video of this song the original singer is at the end of the video playing a cop
Whenever I hear this beautiful song, I think about by grandfather. He used to love it, as do I. Thank you so much for reacting to this, it brought a tear to my eye.
I loved this song…..use to sing it all the time along with a little dance! “ Why she ran away “ wh wh wh wonder why! Loved it!
High school Fri dance hop...How do we dance to this? Loved this song...figured it out. RIP Del
This song was the opening theme song for a 1986 television drama produced by Michael Mann called "Crime Story". It starred the late, great Dennis Farina. Mann gave us "Miami Vice" but the programmers at NBC put this show up against Bruce Willis' "Moonlighting", which was an immensely popular show. Consequently, "Crime Story" only lasted two seasons. But the opening with "Runaway" was just awesome.
I was SO MAD at NBC for choosing one more season of Miami Vice over Crime Story back then.
Definitely check out the version from Crime Story, the keyboard solo gets replaced with a rocking guitar solo, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
You took my comment right out of my mouth. Sadly, "Crime Story"(or at least the first season before it kinda began losing its' way), was possibly the greatest cop show ever.
Dennis Farina was actually a real-life Chicago Police Detective for 18 years, but when the starring role of "Crime Story" was offered to him, he left that job and never went back.
The success of Dennis Farina's acting career was in part because he was able to bring that genuine Chicago Cop grittiness to his roles.
@@robertstephens4037 I used to crank up the song each week at the beginning of the show.
I used to watch Crime Story with my dad when I was probably too young. Loved that show! And the theme song!
Yes! One of my all time favourites! Del is fantastic. Little Town Flirt next please.! Total banger. And Bonnie Raitt does a KILLER cover of THIS song. Well worth checking out.
Killer song, glad you finally got to it. Definitely remember listening to it, growing up as a kid.
Product of the 70's Teen of the 80's that me. Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. Grew up on Everything from rock to soul r&b blues and everything in between.
In 1986, there was a TV show (which lasted two seasons), "Crime Story," that was set in the 60s and used this as its theme song.
Always loved the opening credits of that show because of ow they used this song.
@@TripletDad3 Absolutely....I always think of "Crime Story" with Dennis Farina when I hear this song....really good show....but I'm old enough I remember this song from the 60's.......
Del Shannon represented the end of Doo Wop with great falsetto, and cheezy organ sound, which was a nod to the sound made popular by "Telstar".
Del Shannon is great. "Little Town Flirt", "Hats Off To Larry" and "I Go To Pieces" are songs you should hit by him.
Always loved this song by Del Shannon, never tire of hearing it. Other great songs include Hats Off To Larry, I Go To Pieces, Little Town Flirt and the lesser known You Never Talked About Me!
YES, my fav was Hats off to Larry, but ALL of his songs were great.
In 80s Blue's guitarist and singer bonnie Raitt Covered this song As a slow bluesy ballad As she got a #1 single out of it
Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" was out in 1956! Had to check that out myself! Great reactions, as always!
My mom used to play Top 40 music on the radio during the day while my dad was at work. This was the first song I learned to sing along with -- I was 2 1/2 years old.
I remember it didn't sound like any other song because of the outer space sounds (as I learned later, the synthesizer).
Awesome guys. There was a 70's band called Paper Lace. They have a few great "story" songs you might be interested in checking out. Billy Don't be a Hero and The Night Chicago Died were all over the radio for a lot of years.
The instrument with the high-pitched solo was a Musitron, an electronic keyboard instrument that was a predecessor of the synthesizer.
Another brilliant song! Keep em coming, thanks! 🥰
Back in the 60's, in grade school there was an older student that had a band and played Runaway to a "T". He had the electric guitar, pure talent, and his band mates (older boys) had the equipment. He was there only a year, but seeing and hearing him changed things, even some other boys started a band.
Runaway is as iconic a Pre-British Invasion American Rock and Roll song as there could be. It was on the radio all the time, and everyone liked hearing it. Say it again, a Great American Rock and Roll song. :)
Del was hit as hard as the other American acts when The Beatles stormed the shores. Ironically, he was the first to have a Beatles song, From Me To You, in the charts, even before The Beatles hit American radio.
He recorded ”Under my thumb” too, great songs..!
I’m an old grandfather and I think you two are great. You both have great insights and are a joy to watch. My wife and I watch you daily.
I was like 9 years old and I freaking loved this song. Such memories. This was before British invasion. This is a rock song.
Thats American rock n roll for sure. For me that is. I have loved this song since I was 5 years old in the 60's.
You guys are a blessing too us by playing our music from 60's and up.
Jay and Amber. Love you guys. Music history. Del Shannon was before the British Invasion. The British Invasion started with the Beatles in 1964. This was 1961 which was about three years before. The British Invasion really didn’t take over American rock and roll. It helped to move it along and produced new artists.
I lived through this era (yeah, I'm old! 😊), and the older American music referred to is the 50s street corner sound of groups like the Franklin Valli & 4 Seasons.
This made me think of another very popular group from that era, The Everly Brothers, who did fun catchy songs. Try, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Problems, which was the intro song used by our local radio station for their call-in talk show, Problem Corner, for I think about 30 years.
I love The Everly Brothers! They also had a song called "Bird Dog". An obscure, usual song but it always makes me smile.
This was actually a big influence on a lot of British Invasion groups that came out right after; in fact, the UK band Small Faces did a somewhat more heavy-handed cover of this a couple years after this came out.
And the solo in the middle of the song is a keyboard, possibly a Farfisa organ (they were popular with a lot of bands in the early-mid 60s).
I was born in the summer of love (67) but I remember my uncles and aunts talking about this subject. From there prospective it went like this. Every few generations you have 4 or 5 greats to take you to the next set of greats and if you will all think back to the winter of 59 we lost three in one horrible night. To them it was inevitable that our rock culture was going to take time to recover and the brits where able to step up and take the rains while our new stars where in the wings warming up.
Song is timeless and is loved by so many including many artists.
del shannon ..two kind of teardrops .keep searchin....little town flirt....hats off to larry...
The solo instrument is a Musitron...early version of a synthesizer (keyboard). Del had a very haunting falsetto. Try "Searching", "Little Town Flirt".
I knew Max Crook the man that did the keyboards in that song. It was the first synthesised keyboard that he made with parts of other instruments, tape players, and kitchen appliances. Max was known as the "father of the rock and roll keyboard" and he was the number 1 keyboardist in the world at one time. Even into his 70's he was one of the best in the world. I know, he used to bring his keyboard to our home and play for us. He was AMAZING! Unfortunately he passed a couple of years ago from cancer.
A high school friend of my brother. Next try “Hat’s off to Larry”.
I first heard this song it was the opening theme song to a show called CRIME STORY (1986). Ever since then I love this song. The show was only 2 seasons but was so good.
This song is a perfect example of early sixties pop music, and a number one hit for Del. This song is well known internationally as well. You would love "Keep Searchin" - killer falsetto on that one.
This takes me back to my childhood. My Dad loved rock & roll and Del Shannon was one of his favourites, along with Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers. He passed away two years ago and I miss him dreadfully. I’m going to listen to all his favourites today and remember him with joy. Thank you. X
Your dad sounds like mine with musical tastes! He loves The Big O, and saw him in '86, an dhe was actually in the Marines with the Everlys, even serving them chow in the canteen. He said one of them asked for an extra portion, and my dad refused (regulations). He actually pulled the "Do you know who I am?" with my dad, who just shrugged and said "It'll be my ass, not yours." He still liked them, though.
This song is the definition of classic... classic singing, classic keyboards. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't recognize this song after hearing it, it never fades in the mind.
Love Del Shannon's music. I grew up listening to the awesome 60's music. Graduated in 1965. I still have his vinyl records in my collection. I still play them on my stereo system. ❤
Female Friday suggestion: Bonnie Raitt’s cover of this song. Sublime.
The high pitch instrument is a Farfisa organ. Sometimes called a surf organ, because it was used a lot by The Beach Boys.
Runaway is a favorite of mine. Few months ago this song was revived in Dexter: New Blood. It's not the first time Del Shannon's Runaway has been used in a series. Crime Story starring Dennis Farina featured Runaway as well. I know there are other shows that have used the song so I expect we will be hearing Del Shannon's Runaway for years to come.
Great! The guy who played the sax used to be in a band that played in the same club every weekend, here in Mobile for years, and they played Runaway every time they took the stage. Even years after the hit, he still played it flawlessly. Good times!
Love this song. Elvis does a killer live version around 1969 with Del Shannon in the audience.
Oh yeah!!
Great reactions. This is my all time favorite Del Shannon song. When I heard it for the first time within the first 5 secs I knew it was gonna be a favorite. :)
Tutti Fruitti was 50s. Little Richard. Runaway definitely still sounds like 50s rock. The British Invasion absorbed a lot of 50s rock & roll then just sang it back to us in English accents. But the Beatles were so popular, they felt they could experiment with sounds and the public would follow them. Their experimentation freed up a lot of artists to try all kinds of different sounds.
I miss the oldies station that used to play the 50s and 60s tunes , they are really hard to find now days !!!
In terms of musical eras, the decades often have had some overlap, I would contend. The late '50s and early '60s were a period of what Amber calls the soda shop rock and roll. What people usually think of as The Sixties began in '64 with the Beatles and lasted through the early '70s when disco took over. Runaway was still in that soda pop era, for sure. Great song! Thanks for sharing your reaction.
He invented the Musitron, an adapted version of the 1947 creation the clavioline. It was an electronic keyboard that gave space-age sound effects to popular music decades before the synthesizer. Shannon played nights in the Battle Creek, Michigan club the Hi-Lo as Charlie Johnson and the Big Little Show Band.
Del Shannon was huge in the '60's! You might want to also check out: "Little Town Flirt", "Keep Searchin' (Follow the Sun)" and "Stranger in Town". Talk about someone who could sing falsetto....Del was completely amazing!
The Beatles, and most of the other British bands, were emulating the American Rock and Roll sound. They loved it, and wanted to make it! They were making Rock and Roll, the way they knew how, with their own additional influences!
Great song. You also need to do Tommy James and the Shondells- Crimson and Clover
I love this song. It also gives me the "WILLIES" after they used the song in the TV show "DEXTER" for the character Kurt Caldwell-"The Runaway Killer" He was a serial killer of runaway teenage girls.
A classic. Also this was the soundtrack for the crime drama series Crime Story, set in 50s which had a lot of big TV/Film stars in some of their earlier roles 😎
The Musitron was new and had a never heard before sound and that’s part of what made this song huge.
Run Around Sue
I Go to Pieces
Hats off to Larry
Little Town Flirt
Keep Searchin'
My oh my. Pre British Invasion, American singer. Love this song, takes me right back to a great time in my life. The beautiful orchestra backing him, absolutely accentuates his wonderful vocals. Great reaction. Buckets of Maple Syrup love from Canada ❤️❤️ 🇨🇦 🇨🇦
The instrument here was a Musitron, which was based on the Clavioline which featured in "Telstar"
I love this song ❤️
This brings back some old memories, my first boyfriend played this in his car ALL THE TIME!!!!
He had another good one too. “ hats off to Larry”
I love this song. The Traveling Wilburys did a version. So did the Beach Boys, Queen (with Paul Rodgers) and Dion. Tom Petty was a huge Del Shannon fan and produced a record for him. This song is one of many great early 60s and late 50s songs featured in the movie American Graffiti. You should check that out on your movie channel!
The Traveling Wilburys was ready to offer Shannon a place in the group, but sadly before they could he committed suicide because he thought he had been a failure in life. So sad.
Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun) by Del Shannon is a great followup to this all-time classic.
Del Shannon is a legend!
This was a truly ancient song to me, and it was amazing to me that something so old was still remembered that I could discover it on radio in the early 80's! The single was from 1961, and I was born in '67... Even The Beatles were ancient to me when I discovered them in the mid-70's! I wasn't even in my teens!
Today, how many think of "classic" pop music by any artist/group that got famous during the MTV-era (80's+), and then got still more rotated other places, as being truly old? So many artists keep sampling them, that they never fade. I mean, Prince's "Purple Rain" was released in 1984, 38 years ago! Queen, Michael Jackson's early songs, Beastie Boys, early hip-hop singles! None have aged nearly as much to the new generations as the 60's music initially did to me back then, who was actually born in 1967!
You guys truly live in a blessed time, as such, when all music from whatever decade is so easily available! :)
Great Song!!!!
One of my absolute favorite singers!! I had such a crush on him!! He was the only rival for my Ricky Nelson crush!! Del still gets to me, all these years later!!