"Stranger in Town" is a 1965 song by Del Shannon. Written by Shannon, it is the opening track on One Thousand Six-Hundred Sixty-One Seconds of Del Shannon. [1] It was released as a single, a follow-up (both chronologically and thematically) to Shannon's top-ten hit "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)", [2] but was not as successful, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA [3] [2] and No. 40 on the UK's Record Retailer chart. [4] "Stranger in Town" was Shannon's last top 40 hit of the 1960s. [2]
"Stranger in Town"... it's one long bleat of terror, the singer and his lover pursued by some unnameable person for reasons just beyond the fringe of rational understanding.
— Dave Marsh, The Heart of Rock & Soul [3]
Dave Marsh, in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, ranked "Stranger in Town"' as the 327th best rock or soul single to that date, [3] ahead of Shannon's bigger hits "Keep Searching" (371st in Marsh's book) [5] and "Runaway" (534th). [6]
Howard DeWitt's biography of Shannon is titled "Stranger in Town" after the song. [7]
Charles Weedon Westover, better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American rock and roll country musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number 1 Billboard hit "Runaway".
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the composer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes," which were hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively. Since 2009, DeShannon has been an entertainment broadcast correspondent reporting Beatles band members' news for the radio program Breakfast with the Beatles.
"Crying" is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson for Orbison's third studio album of the same name (1962). Released in 1961, it was a number 2 hit in the US for Orbison and was covered in 1980 by Don McLean, whose version went to number 1 in the UK.
"Hearts of Stone" is an American R&B song. It was written by Eddie Ray and Rudy Jackson, a member of the San Bernardino, California-based rhythm and blues vocal group the Jewels which first recorded it for the R&B label in 1954. The Jewels began as a gospel group, then became the Marbles, recording for the Lucky label out of Los Angeles.
"I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a song written by the songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1963 and released as a single on Columbia Records. However, the song did not become a major hit until 1964, when Gene Pitney released his version as a single. It was also a single released by the 1980 band Blue Angel, with lead vocals provided by future star Cyndi Lauper. This release was prior to Lauper's solo career; however, Lauper re-recorded the track and released it as a single in 1994. The song was also featured on 1982's Quiet Lies album by Grammy winner Juice Newton. Though Newton never released the song as a single, her remake was later added as a bonus track to her first Greatest Hits collection.
Dave Marsh is an American music critic, author, editor and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of Creem magazine, has written for various publications such as Newsday, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone, and has published numerous books about music and musicians, mostly focused on rock music. He is also a committee member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Runaway" is a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song made famous by Del Shannon in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit. It is No. 472 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, compiled in 2010.
"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which Cannibal & the Headhunters added in their 1965 version, which reached number 30 on the Billboard chart. Thee Midniters, an American group out of East Los Angeles, was one of the first Chicano rock bands to cover "Land of a Thousand Dances", scoring a local hit in 1965. The song was also covered by Danny & the Memories, British group The Action, Ted Nugent, the J. Geils Band, and the stars of the 1980s-era World Wrestling Federation. Ike & Tina Turner often performed this song live and it was released on their 1971 album Live In Paris. The song's best-known version was Wilson Pickett's 1966 recording, which became a Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs No. 1 and his biggest ever pop hit. Some releases of the song credit Antoine "Fats" Domino as a co-author of the song with Kenner. Domino agreed to record the song in exchange for half of the song's royalties. One of the earliest covers of the song is on Major Lance's debut album on Okeh, The Monkey Time (1963).
"Gloria" is a rock song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964. It was released as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its "Gloria!" chorus. It is easy to play, as a simple three-chord song, and thus is popular with those learning to play guitar.
"Hungry Heart" is a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, The River. It was released as the album's lead single in 1980 and became Springsteen's first big hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart peaking at number five.
"Rag Doll" is a popular song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded by the Four Seasons and released as a single in 1964. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 18, 1964, and remained on top for two weeks. The song was also a number one hit in Canada, and reached number two in the UK and number four in Ireland.
"We're an American Band" is a song by Grand Funk Railroad from the album of the same name, which became the band's first No. 1 single, released July 2, 1973. Written by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren, its huge chart success broadened Grand Funk's appeal. It was sung by drummer Don Brewer who began doing more lead vocals for the band and helped with their transition to making top 40 hits.
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is a song written by George Jackson and Thomas E. Jones III, with uncredited lyrics by Bob Seger. It was recorded by Seger for his 1978 album Stranger in Town. It was also released as a single in 1979. It is a sentimentalized look back at the music of the original rock 'n' roll era and has often been referenced as Seger's favorite song. The song gained renewed popularity after being featured in the 1983 film Risky Business. It has since become a standard in popular music and was ranked number two on the Amusement & Music Operators Association's survey of the Top 40 Jukebox Singles of All Time in 1996. It was also listed as one of the Songs of the Century in 2001 and ranked No. 100 in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Songs poll in 2004 of the top songs in American cinema.
"It's My Life" is a song written by Brill Building songwriters Roger Atkins and Carl D'Errico. The song was originally performed by English R&B band The Animals, who released it as a single in October 1965.
"Wavelength" is the title song from the 1978 album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. Released as a single in 1978, it climbed to number forty two in the US charts, and stayed in the Hot 100 for eleven weeks. According to Howard A. Dewitt, this "was the song which re-established Morrison's hit making abilities".
"2000 Miles" is a song by British-American rock band The Pretenders. Written by lead singer Chrissie Hynde and produced by Chris Thomas, it was released on 18 November 1983 as the second single from their third studio album, Learning to Crawl (1984). It was most popular in the UK, where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart in December 1983. In the US, it was released as the B-side of both the 7-inch single and 12-inch single remix of the band's hit "Middle of the Road".
"I Gotta Dance to Keep from Crying" is a 1963 hit by the Miracles on Motown's Tamla label. It was a Billboard Top 40 Pop hit, reaching number 35 on that chart, and a Top 20 hit on its R&B chart, peaking at number 17. It was written and produced by Motown's main songwriting team, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland, and was the follow-up to the group's Top 10 pop hit, "Mickey's Monkey", written by the same team.
"She Cried" is a song written by Ted Daryll and Greg Richards, and it was initially recorded by Ted Daryll in July 1961, but was a big hit when covered by Jay and the Americans for their 1962 album, She Cried. In 1962 the song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on WLS. The song was the group's first major hit.
"Keep Searchin' " is a song written by the American rock-and-roll musician Del Shannon. It was written, recorded, and released in 1964. The song is in the key of A minor. Its lyrics tell the story of a man who tries to find a place to hide himself and his beleaguered girlfriend from those who abuse her. The song ends with a sequence of very high notes.
Ollie Anderson McLaughlin was an American record producer and record label owner. He discovered Del Shannon, and also organized or produced recordings by Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker, Dorothy Ashby, Barbara Lewis, and the Capitols, among many others.