Friday October 8, 2021 “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” Jackie De Shannon
For those song of the dayers with a familiarity of IL, Sharon Lee Myers (Jackie DeShannon) spent her teenage years at Batavia High School before dropping out in her junior year to become a country singer. She would write some minor hits for country singer Brenda Lee and bounce around the California music scene until her big break came when Chicago radio station WLS found her recording of “Needles & Pins” and placed it in heavy rotation based on the immediate listener appeal to the song.
This first successful hit song “Needles & Pins” was co-written by Sonny Bono, before his Sonny & Cher fame and recorded long before the British group the Searchers would have their hit with the same song. Today’s song, “What the World Needs Now…” was co-written by Jackie DeShannon and her brother and would be a top ten record, selling more than a million copies.
So maybe you’re wondering what that kind of record sales translates into for the artist? According to Jackie,”The airplay was great, and in those days if you had a record in rotation, that could be very good money. I was actually able to buy a car for my dad, and I bought a house for my parents."
Jackie DeShannon spent some time with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and rumor has it that he wrote “Tangerine” about Jackie after their break-up.
Stay safe and well...and in our world of rock & roll advice this may well be the overriding philosophy for its love inspired spirit and universal appeal.