1. Charles Weedon Westover, better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one Billboard hit "Runaway", which was covered later by various major artists including Elvis Presley and the Traveling Wilburys.
Del Shannon learned to play the ukulele and guitar and listened to country-and-western music by artists such as Hank Williams, Hank Snow, and Lefty Frizzell.
Del Shannon was drafted into the Army in 1954 and, while in Germany, played guitar in a band called The Cool Flames.
Del Shannon found part-time work as a rhythm guitarist in singer Doug DeMott's group, The Moonlight Ramblers, working at the Hi-Lo Club.
Del Shannon flew to New York City, but his first sessions were not successful.
Del Shannon followed with "Hats Off to Larry", which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard chart and number 2 on the Cashbox chart in 1961, and the less popular "So Long, Baby", another song of breakup bitterness.
In late 1964, Del Shannon produced a demo recording session for a young fellow Michigander named Bob Seger, who would go on to stardom much later.
Del Shannon opened for Ike and Tina Turner at Dave Hull's Hullabaloo club in Los Angeles, California, on December 22,1965.
Del Shannon signed with Liberty in 1966 and revived Toni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" and the Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb".
In September 1967, Del Shannon began laying down the tracks for The Further Adventures of Charles Westover, which was highly regarded by fans and critics alike despite disappointing sales.
Reviewer Chris Martin critiqued the album favourably, saying that Del Shannon never improvised, was always true to the original sounds of his music and that only Lou Christie rivaled his falsetto.
Del Shannon's career slowed down greatly in the 1970s, owing in part to his alcoholism.
In 1978 Del Shannon stopped drinking and began work on "Sea of Love", released in 1982 on his album Drop Down and Get Me, produced by Tom Petty.
Del Shannon had a resurgence of popularity after re-recording "Runaway" with new lyrics as the theme for the NBC-TV program Crime Story.
In 1988, Del Shannon sang "The World We Know" with the Smithereens on their album Green Thoughts.
Previously, in 1975, Del Shannon had recorded tracks with Lynne, along with "In My Arms Again", a country song he wrote and recorded for Warner Bros.
In January 1990, Del Shannon was pushing himself to finish a new album and schedule upcoming concerts, resulting in troublesome stress.
Del Shannon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2005.