Sharon Myers adopted the name Jackie DeShannon, believed to be an Irish ancestor. Record company executives at Liberty Records thought the name Sharon Myers wouldn't sell records. (She once reported that record executives added "Shannon" to "Jackie Dee," one of the names under which she recorded, to create her name.)
Life and early career:
DeShannon was born the daughter of musically inclined farming parents, Sandra Jean and James Erwin Myers, DeShannon was introduced to singing country tunes on a local radio show at the age of six. By the age of eleven, DeShannon was already hosting her own radio program. When life on the farm became too difficult, the family moved to Aurora, Illinois, her mother's home town, and her father resumed his other career as a barber. After a year, they moved up the Fox River to Batavia, Illinois, where Sharon attended high school.
Recording under various names such as Sherry Lee, Jackie Dee, and Jackie Shannon, she had little success. However, her interpretations of country songs "Buddy" and "Trouble" gained the attention of Eddie Cochran who arranged for her to travel to California and meet singer-songwriter Sharon Sheeley, who formed a writing partnership with DeShannon in 1960. The partnership produced hits such as "Dum Dum" for Brenda Lee and "I Love Anastasia" for The Fleetwoods. The latter was named after one of her good friends in high school.
In 1960, DeShannon signed with Liberty Records. She made the WLS Chicago survey with "Lonely Girl" in late 1960. A string of mostly flop singles followed, although "The Prince" bubbled under at #108 in the United States in early 1962, and "Faded Love" (#97 in February 1963) became her first U.S. Hot 100 hit, albeit just barely .
She broke through a little more solidly singing "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room" later in 1963. Both reached the lower rungs of the U.S. pop charts, but were substantial top 40 hits in Canada, where "Needles and Pins" made it all the way to #1. "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room" later became U.S. and UK hits for The Searchers.
DeShannon recorded many other singles that encompassed teen pop, country ballads, rockabilly, gospel, and Ray Charles-style soul that didn't fare as well on the charts. During these years it was her songwriting and public profile rather than her recording career that kept her contracted to Liberty Records. DeShannon dated Elvis Presley and formed friendships with The Everly Brothers and Ricky Nelson. She also co-starred and sang with Bobby Vinton in the teen surf movie Surf Party.
DeShannon's biggest break came in February 1964, when she supported The Beatles on their first U.S. tour, and formed a touring band with guitarist Ry Cooder. DeShannon also wrote "Don't Doubt Yourself Babe" for debut album by The Byrds. Her music at this stage was heavily influenced by the American West Coast sounds and folk music. Staying briefly in England in 1965, DeShannon formed a songwriting partnership with Jimmy Page, which resulted in the hit singles "Dream Boy" and "Don't Turn Your Back On Me". Page and DeShannon also wrote material for singer Marianne Faithfull, including her Top Ten UK and U.S. hit "Come and Stay With Me". DeShannon also appeared on the television show Ready Steady Go!
Hit love songs:
Moving to New York, DeShannon co-wrote with Randy Newman, producing such songs as "She Don't Understand Him" and "Did He Call Today Mama?", as well as writing "You Have No Choice" for Delaney Bramlett. In March 1965, DeShannon recorded Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "What the World Needs Now Is Love," which provided her first Number 1 hit and regular appearances on television shows and club tours. (DeShannon's recording of the song was subsequently used in the 1969 film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.) She appeared in the 1967 film C'mon Let's Live a Little, with Bobby Vee, as a folk singer. DeShannon continued writing and recording but it was not until 1969 that she scored her next biggest smash single and album, both entitled "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". The single "Love Will Find A Way" from the same album was also a moderate hit. Switching to Atlantic Records in 1970 and moving to Los Angeles, DeShannon recorded the critically acclaimed albums Jackie and Your Baby Is A Lady, but they failed to produce the same commercial success as previous releases. In 1973, she was invited by Van Morrison to sing on his Hard Nose the Highway album.
"Put A Little Love In Your Heart" was performed as the closing number at the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly in 1979.
Later career:
While DeShannon has not produced any further Top Ten singles of her own, her songs have been covered by other artists who have in turn converted them into hits. In 1974, with Donna Weiss, she composed "Queen Of The Rodeo" and "Bette Davis Eyes" for her album New Arrangement. The song "Bette Davis Eyes" later became a world-wide Number 1 single for singer Kim Carnes in 1981. It earned DeShannon the 1982 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
The songs "Breakaway", recorded by Tracey Ullman in 1983, and "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", recorded by Annie Lennox and Al Green in 1988, also became huge hits, the latter of which Dolly Parton also covered in 1993. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Stevie Nicks had a Top 40 U.S. hit in 1986 with a cover of "Needles And Pins", which was a song DeShannon originally recorded, although not one she wrote. A version of "When You Walk In The Room" by Pam Tillis in 1994 topped the country charts. Another recent cover of "When You Walk In The Room" was by ex-ABBA vocalist Agnetha Fältskog, both in her comeback album My Colouring Book and as a UK and European hit single.
Jackie was portrayed by singer Liz Phair in an episode of the NBC period drama American Dreams.
Personal life:
DeShannon is married to singer/songwriter and film music composer Randy Edelman, who is her third husband. Her first husband was Liberty Records executive Irving "Bud" Dain, whom she married on January 29, 1966. She has also dated Jimmy Page and Love guitarist Bryan MacLean. It is likely that Jimmy Page wrote the song "Tangerine" (which appeared on the third Led Zeppelin album) after the breakup of his relationship with DeShannon in early 1965.
When You Walk In The Room
Jackie DeShannon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can feel a glowing sensation taking place
I can hear the guitars playin' lovely tunes
Every time that you walk in the room
I close my eyes for a second and pretend it's me you want
Meanwhile I try to act so nonchalant
I feel a summer's night with a magic moon
Baby it's a dream come true
Standin' right along side of you
Wish I could show you how much I care
But I only have the nerve to stare
I can feel a something pounding in my brain
Just any time that someone speaks your name
Trumpets sound I hear thunder boom
Every time that you walk in the room
The first two lines of Jackie DeShannon's "When You Walk In The Room" suggest an immediate change in emotion--that a new expression is coming to the singer's face and a glowing sensation is taking place as soon as the person they have been waiting for walks in. The imagery of the guitars playing lovely tunes is a hyperbolic expression of the excitement and anticipation that the singer feels when this person arrives. The singer says every time this person walks into the room, they feel as though they are in a dream and everything around them is magical.
In the next stanza, the singer closes their eyes and imagines it's them that the other person wants. The desire for this person is so strong that they have to pretend that the person shares this same desire. The singer wants to show how much they care, but they only have the nerve to stare.
The final stanza conveys the idea that the person who the singer has been waiting for is always on their mind--it's as if their name is a signal for something special. Trumpets sound, thunder booms--the world is heralding the arrival of this person. Every time this person walks in the room, the singer can't help but feel like they are in a dream world.
Line by Line Meaning
I can feel a new expression on my face
My face feels different, and I'm showing new emotions when you enter the room.
I can feel a glowing sensation taking place
I have a happy and warm feeling inside when you walk in the room.
I can hear the guitars playin' lovely tunes
I imagine I hear beautiful music when you are around.
Every time that you walk in the room
Whenever you enter the room, all these things happen to me.
I close my eyes for a second and pretend it's me you want
I sometimes imagine that you are interested in me.
Meanwhile I try to act so nonchalant
Though I'm hopeful, I'm acting calm and casual to not seem too eager or awkward.
I feel a summer's night with a magic moon
I get a feeling that it's a magical summer evening when you are around.
Baby it's a dream come true
Being with you feels like a dream come true.
Standin' right along side of you
Standing next to you is a happy place for me.
Wish I could show you how much I care
I wish I had the courage to express my affection for you.
But I only have the nerve to stare
I lack the courage to do anything but look at you when you are around.
I can feel a something pounding in my brain
My head races with excitement whenever someone mentions you.
Just any time that someone speaks your name
Whenever someone talks about you, my mind races with excitement.
Trumpets sound I hear thunder boom
My heart feels like it's beating loudly with excitement when I see you.
Every time that you walk in the room
The effect you have on me repeats every time you come into the room.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jackie Shannon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edwarddawson7653
1963 a young female comes along writes and sings her own songs in a Male dominated industry, she was special
@garyshields8299
pl
@tomhoffmann6442
So great 🎉😂
@user-fg8kh8jf3x
Yes but who had a hit with it a male band from the era! There's is more memorable
@steveeyre6975
@@user-fg8kh8jf3xthe searchers
@barryh.4220
This is a fabulous song, and she is terrific ....
@stewartfenton7660
I love to watch old stuff like this, but it hurts too. The memories and all. That time will never happen again.
@deanl0
Don't worry The price is that you were there at the 1st. place
@paulcardsfan
No one can beat the way she sings it . Nothing like the original. This is the best !!!! 👌
@evanhughes1510
Pam Tillis did a really great version of it in the 90s