1-CD (Digipak) with 40-page booklet, 33 tracks. Total playing time: approx. 76 minutes.

Q: Why should I buy this Del Shannon compilation?

A: This Del Shannon compilation includes recordings from the following labels: ’Big Top’, ’Berlee’ and ’Amy’. There was never ever a compilation on the market, except the ’Bear Family’ box set (BCD15925) which features all these labels on one CD!

Q: Are there any hits on the CD?

A: Yes, you’ll find many of his successes like ’Runaway’, ’The Swiss Maid’, ’Hats Off To Larry’, ’So Long Baby’, ’Don’t Gild The Lilly, Lilly’, ’Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun)’ and many more on this compilation!

Q: Any rarities on this CD?

A: Yes, we have included three instrumental Rockers, the Stereo version of ’Runaway’ plus his great ’Amy’ Rocker and floorfiller ’Move It On Over’ (not the Hank Williams song)

Q: Did Del Shannon do a cover version of Elvis Presley’s hit recording ’(Marie’s The Name) Of His Latest Flame’?

A: Guess What? Del Shannon actually was the first artist who recorded it! It first came out on his debut LP album in 1961! Elvis Presley later in the same year brought his version to No. 4 on ’The Billboard Hot 100 Charts’

Q: What kind of instrument is it that is heard on many of Del Shannon’s recordings? Is that an organ?

No, the so-called organ, which you hear on ’Runaway’, ’Hats Off To Larry’ and many other songs, is a ’Musitron’, which is one of the early ancestors of the synthesizer. It was invented and played by Del Shannon’s band member Max Crook. Max Crook was also the co-author of Runaway.

Q: How is the sound quality of the recordings on this CD?

A: All recordings are from the original master tapes and are proper liscensed from the rights holder! We did a careful mastering and the result is a really enjoyable CD!

• One of the greatest rock ’n’ roll artists of the early 1960s!
• By including Del Shannon in our series ’The Drugstore’s Rockin’,’ we pay tribute to a great musician and singer!
• 33 of his greatest recordings including his ’61 debut Smash Runaway.
• Also included are his pre-Elvis version of Marie’s The Name and his ’64 hit Keep Searchin’.
• Extensive liner notes by music expert Bill Dahl from Chicago.

A handful of bravura vocalists defined early 1960s rock and roll, standing staunch and true against the steady softening of the once-tough genre. They included Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Gary (U.S.) Bonds, and Del Shannon, whose muscular lungpower, laced with thrilling falsetto that seemed to soar to the heavens, receives full-fledged tribute on Bear Family’s 33-song ‘Del Shannon: The Drugstore’s Rockin’.’ Naturally, Runaway, Del’s indelible 1961 debut smash, is here (in stereo), as are his monster followups for Big Top Records, Hats Off To Larry, Hey Little Girl, and Little Town Flirt.

Also on board is Shannon’s haunting Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow The Sun), a 1964 smash on the Amy label. But there are plenty of surprises, including his pre-Elvis original reading of Marie’s The Name (Of His Latest Flame), the swaggering Mary Jane, and a snarling Move It On Over featuring Dennis Coffey’s bone-crunching guitar.