Jackie DeShannon
- Actress
- Composer
- Soundtrack
The extremely talented, prolific and versatile Jackie DeShannon was one
of the first successful female singer/songwriters to hit the rock and
pop music scene back in the '60s. DeShannon has done music in such
diverse genres as folk, orchestral pop, gospel, country, and
rock 'n' roll. Jackie was born Sharon Lee Myers on August 21, 1941, in
Hazel, Kentucky to Sandra Jean and James Erwin Myers. Her father was a barber in Batavia, Illinois, where she attended high school for two years. By age six, DeShannon was singing country music on the radio and, at age eleven, she was hosting her own radio show. In 1957, Jackie recorded a rollicking tribute to her musical idol, Buddy Holly, called "Buddy." Jackie
befriended rockabilly singer
Eddie Cochran, who convinced her to move
to California. DeShannon formed a songwriting partnership with
Cochran's girlfriend, Sharon Sheeley;
they wrote "Dum Dum" for Brenda Lee
and "Breakaway" for Irma Thomas. The British
rock group, The Searchers, scored big hits with their covers of
DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room". Jackie
performed with The Beatles during their
first US tour. In the fall of 1964, DeShannon went to London, England
and recorded four songs with
Jimmy Page which included the rousing
"Don't Turn Your Back on Me". DeShannon wrote the hit song "Come and
Stay With Me" for Marianne Faithfull.
Jackie collaborated with
Randy Newman on such songs as "Hold
Your Head High" and "Did He Call Today Mama". DeShannon scored her
first major breakthrough hit with "What the World Needs Now Is Love";
this song was written by Burt Bacharach
and Hal David. Jackie had another
substantial success with "Put A Little Love in Your Heart". Among the
artists who have done covers of DeShannon's songs are
Tracey Ullman,
Annie Lennox and
Al Green (they did a duet on "Put A
Little Love in Your Heart"), Stevie Nicks,
Dolly Parton,
Pam Tillis, and
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
Kim Carnes scored a massive Number One hit
with "Bette Davis Eyes", which Jackie co-wrote with
Donna Weiss. DeShannon's songs have been
featured on the soundtracks for such movies as
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969),
Who'll Stop the Rain (1978),
"In Country," Forrest Gump (1994),
My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
and RV (2006). Jackie made a brief foray into
acting in the mid 60s; she appeared in the films
Surf Party (1964),
Intimacy (1966) and
C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967).
Moreover, DeShannon made guest appearances on the TV shows
The Virginian (1962),
The Wild Wild West (1965),
My Three Sons (1960) and
The Name of the Game (1968).
DeShannon is married to singer/songwriter and film music composer
Randy Edelman. Jackie was inducted into
the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 17, 2010.
