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Virtually all of the Jackie DeShannon classics featured on this package are like mile markers on pops journey through the decades. Jackie achieved a top ten hit in 1965 with her exquisitely soulful rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David s What The World Needs Now Is Love. The recording which earned three Grammy nominations, was a recent induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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“Think of your fellow man, lend him a helping hand, put a little love in your heart.” That was Jackie DeShannon’s opening mantra of the modern day classic “Put A Little Love In Your Heart,” a song she penned with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. That 1969 single release took the singer-songwriter to the pinnacle in popular music, selling over a million copies. In the late 1980s, Annie Lennox and Al Green paired up on a hit remake. However, Jackie’s original recording served as one of the best anthems of a generation searching for its identity during the socially and politically turbulent Vietnam War era.
Virtually all of the revisited Jackie DeShannon classics featured on this package are like mile markers on pop’s journey through the decades. “When You Walk In The Room” written by Jackie, and “Needles And Pins” written for Jackie by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono, represent the early 1960s Jackie. Her longtime tenure with Imperial Records was best expressed by her work with the eclectic arranger-composer Jack Nitzsche, her close friend and artistic collaborator. UK Merseybeat band The Searchers hung their star over both sides of the pond with covers of the DeShannon and Nitzsche-Bono tunes that would become rock standards. But Jackie’s original versions read the lyrics with a wider range of emotions, revealing her as a deep and evolving artist. New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas first took on the DeShannon-Sharon Sheeley composition “Breakaway” in its original rapid-fire form. Twenty years later, Tracey Ullman registered a smash remake in the UK. Jackie’s earlier songwriting with Sheeley also produced the tender Brenda Lee hit “Heart In Hand” as well as “The Great Imposter” by the Fleetwoods (featured in the iconic George Lucas film American Graffiti).
As the sixties evolved, Jackie DeShannon grew as a writer and recording artist, enjoying the opportunity to work with many other up-and-coming music legends. Jackie had the good fortune to join The Beatles in 1964 as an opening act on their first US tour. She performed with blues guitarist Ry Cooder at the legendary Ash Grove, and wrote with fellow Metric Music Publishing song scribe Randy Newman. Folk-rock pioneers The Byrds featured Jackie’s original “Don’t Doubt Yourself Babe” on their debut album. In England, she composed and recorded with a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page. Jackie subsequently wrote one of British songbird Marianne Faithful’s signature songs, “Come And Stay With Me.” Back home, she was a frequent presence on hip television music shows such as Shindig! and sang with Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and The Everly Brothers.
Jackie achieved a top ten hit in 1965 with her exquisitely soulful rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love.” The recording – which earned three Grammy nominations, including Best Female Vocal, Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Vocal and Best Contemporary Rock & Roll Single – became the definitive interpretation and was a recent induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Jackie firmly established herself with a song of her own, on her own terms, with “Put A Little Love In Your Heart,” bringing her another Best Contemporary Female Vocal Grammy nomination. She also came up with the bluesy “Bad Water” that Ray Charles’ Raelettes issued in 1970. As that decade progressed, Jackie’s songwriting unions included Van Morrison and John Bettis, among others.
Her work with Donna Weiss took DeShannon into the ’80s with “Bette Davis Eyes,” breaking Kim Carnes as a major artist of that decade. The song was one of the US’ first “new wave” hits, and earned Jackie the 1982 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.
On this collection of revisited favorites from the DeShannon oeuvre, the gems are allowed to breathe through their modest production values, stripped-down to allow their lyrics the ability to resonate and touch your soul. One listen to the relaxed tempo treatment of “Breakaway” or the soft ballad rebirth of “When You Walk In The Room” and you’ll understand why Jackie remains one of the most cherished artists of the singer-songwriter era and why she was inducted into the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Nothing but an acoustic guitar and bass are needed whenever a vocalist this expressive is involved. That approach—with splashes of strings and an electric guitar or two—is how Jackie tackles all of these recordings. This includes her newest offering, “Will You Stay In My Life,” a highly visual creation that presents a revealing glimpse into the romanticism inherent in DeShannon’s repertoire. “Put a little love in your heart,” is precisely what Jackie is all about.