Jackie DeShannon Probably Wrote That Song
Jackie DeShannon shows future guitar god Jimmy Page how it’s done, November 14, 1964. Sources: YouTube, jimmypagemusic.com
DeShannon’s songs were covered by dozens of artists, notably ’60s singers Brenda Lee and Marianne Faithfull.
Singer/Songwriter
Jackie DeShannon is perhaps best known for being the passionate voice behind two feel-good ’60s anthems, “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and for her own composition, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” What is lesser known is Jackie’s songwriting chops and the diverse array of artists who have been beneficiaries.
Her songs run the gamut of popular music genres: pop, rock, folk, country, R&B, and jazz. Many artists who have covered Jackie DeShannon’s songs are listed in the playlist below.
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull’s manager, British impresario Tony Calder, told this story to Mojo magazine about a night in Los Angeles, where he was staying in a hotel room with future Led Zeppelin star Jimmy Page in the early ’60s:
One night, I couldn’t get into our hotel room because Jimmy and Jackie DeShannon were shagging. So I yelled, ‘When you’re finished, could you write a song for Marianne?'”
Jackie DeShannon, not Jimmy Page, provided Calder with “Come and Stay with Me,” which coupled nicely with “As Tears Go By” to launch Marianne Faithfull’s singing career. In ’60s swinging London, Faithfull was “a beautiful girl caught suddenly in the eye of a cultural hurricane,” along for the ride with boyfriend Mick Jagger.
Faithfull & Jagger. Source: NY Times/AP
Here is Marianne Faithfull singing Jackie DeShannon’s “Come and Stay with Me” live on a French TV show, February 18, 1966, published by westcoastpaeb via YouTube:
Jackie DeShannon
Source: discogs.com
Born Sharon Lee Myers in Kentucky to musically inclined parents, Jackie DeShannon (the final choice of several stage names) was a child prodigy who started hosting her own live radio show at age 11. DeShannon’s early songs caught the attention of rockabilly star Eddie Cochran, who invited her to California to meet his girlfriend, Sharon Steeley, with whom DeShannon formed a successful songwriting partnership.
The partnership gifted singer Brenda Lee with two charted singles, “Dum Dum” (1961) and “Heart in Hand” (1962). DeShannon also collaborated with songwriters Randy Newman, Jack Nitzsche, lyricist John Bettis, and Van Morrison. Each of them has joined DeShannon in the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“Put a Little Love in Your Heart”
Although she didn’t get songwriting credit, Jackie was part of the team that wrote the ’60s classic, “Needles and Pins.” She won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1982 for “Bette Davis Eyes,” which DeShannon co-wrote with Donna Weiss.
Jackie’s magnum opus, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” co-written with her brother Randy Myers in 1969, peaked at number four on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and has been covered by over 250 artists over the decades.
Here is Jackie singing “Put A Little Love in Your Heart” on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 1, 1970, one minute, 25 seconds long, published by the Ed Sullivan Show via YouTube:
Brenda Lee
The radio’s playing some forgotten song
Brenda Lee’s ‘Coming on Strong’
–Radar Love by Golden Earring
Never mind that she’s known primarily for her ubiquitous Christmas ditty, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” Only Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and Ray Charles have charted more singles than Brenda Lee. Her success in the ’60s earned the former child performer Billboard‘s Top Female Artist of the Decade.
Source: Billboard – 1964
Here is Brenda Lee singing the Jackie DeShannon/Sharon Steeley-penned “Dum Dum,” audio recording with enhanced graphics from 1961, published by jim rackitts via YouTube:
Breakfast with the Beatles
Jackie DeShannon is staying active. Her broadcasting career–she first hosted a show at age 11–has come full circle with her involvement since 2009 with “Breakfast with the Beatles,” the popular Sunday morning, Los Angeles-based radio show hosted by Chris Carter.
Jackie reports on news and activities of Beatles band members and fans, and she should know a thing or two: Jackie opened for the Beatles on their first American tour in 1964.
