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DEL SHANNON’S
LOST MASTERPIECE
Del Shannon was understandably excited in February 1967 when Andrew Loog Oldham offered to
record an album with him and Liberty Records quickly gave the go ahead. Although Shannon had
only two original songs to contribute, Oldham suggested several numbers from top-drawer
songwriters who he believed would match his musical vision – a fusion of Shannon’s mastery of
pop music despair, the introspective lyrics of The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, and the grandiosity of
Phil Spector’s West Coast pop-operatic productions.
After booking time at Olympic Studios in London, Oldham secured the services of arranger
Arthur Greenslade and many top session players including Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones,
Big Jim Sullivan and Joe Moretti (although not Jimmy Page, who has been erroneously credited
in several accounts). The four-day session was a dream come true for Shannon – a possible
career-redefining musical statement of his ability as a song stylist.
Although the end result, the album Home & Away, was
an artistic high point, the powers at Liberty Records didn’t
know what to make of it. When the singles from the
album, Led Along and Runaway ’67, flopped, Liberty
decided to can the album and move on.
The tracks from Home & Away were eventually released
in 1978, jumbled up with three unrelated recordings on
a budget-priced compilation album titled ...And The Music
Plays On. Home & Away would not receive a proper release
until 2006, finally delivering Del Shannon’s moody
masterpiece to the world.a series of great singles, expressed his continuing love for country music with
the album Del Shannon Sings Hank Williams, and demonstrated his growing
confidence as a songwriter with the outstanding, mostly self-penned LP One
Thousand Six Hundred Sixty One Seconds With Del Shannon.
Despite the artistic successes, Shannon was finding the road to hits rockier
as each subsequent 45 scored lower on the charts. In the summer of 1965, he
released two outstanding singles – the moody rock ballad Break Up, and the
pedal-to-the-metal rave-up Move It On Over. The records were lean and tough,
but both failed on radio and in the charts. The arrival of the British Invasion and
the explosion of new US acts inspired by the Brits typecast many pre-Beatles
artists as has-beens. Shannon knew the only way to break free of the stigma was
the resources and clout of a major record label. Amy Records clearly lacked both.
In the early weeks of 1966, Shannon spent time in Los Angeles, where he
befriended Tommy Boyce of the singer-songwriter duo Boyce and Hart.
As Shannon’s contracts with Talent Artists and Amy Records had recently
ended, he was ready for a change. Moving his family to Los Angeles, he soon
landed a major league deal with the LA-based Liberty Records.
Liberty were eager to record Shannon and teamed him up with their staff
producer, Tommy “Snuff ” Garrett and songwriter/session player Leon Russell.
The result was an impressive single playing to Del’s strengths as a song stylist- The Big Hurt, a Wayne Shanklin track that had been a hit for pop singer Toni
Fisher in 1959. Shannon’s version was a grand, operatic rock production, mining
the same themes of loneliness and loss running through many of his earlier hits.
Before the single hit store shelves, Shannon returned to the studio to cut his
first Liberty album in March 1966. Liberty were very successful in the album
market, racking up huge profits from artists such as Bobby Vee, who by the
mid-60s only occasionally scored hits but nevertheless moved thousands of LPs.
Liberty viewed Del Shannon through the same lens, leading to his first Liberty
album, This Is My Bag, following the Vee model of only a few original songs
alongside covers of recently popular hits. Liberty’s marketing strategy seemed
right on target when This Is My Bag scored respectable sales, while The Big Hurt