(Jackie DeShannon)
Australia
#53 Sydney #21 Melbourne | #42 Australia
A-side of double B-side single on Mushroom July 1978.
The Sports, formed in 1976 and fronted by vocalist Steve Cummings, were admired for their eclectic range of covers as well as for their original songs, many written by band members. They broke up in 1981 after releasing four albums and numerous singles, among them the originals Boys! What Did The Detectives Say (1978, #55 Australia), Who Listens To The Radio (1978, #35) and Strangers On A Train (1980, #22).
See also Wedding Ring (1979, #40 Australia), their version of an Easybeats hit from the 60s.
References: 1. Ian McFarlane, Encyclopedia of Australian Rock & Pop. 2. Howlspace’s history of The Sports [archived].
Thanks to David Overett for suggestion.
(Jackie DeShannon)
UK
#38 UK
Single on Ariola Hansa March 1978 by quartet from Yorkshire active in the mid-to-late 70s.
♫ Listen at YouTube
(Jackie DeShannon)
New
Zealand
Single on Festival April 1968 by Liverpool-born singer (Rosalie Edmondson 1948-2022). Her family migrated to Takapuna, Auckland when she was 15.
See more about Sandy Edmonds under her 1967 singles I Love Onions and Daylight Savin’ Time.
(Jackie DeShannon - Shel Shapiro*)
Italy
#15 Italy
Single on Arc by Italian beat-era band, formed in UK 1960 as the Shel Carson Combo.
*The credit for Italian lyrics is to The Rokes’ London-born frontman Shel Shapiro, real name Norman David Shapiro. The Italian title means There’s a strange expression in your eyes, echoing the English opening line I can feel a new expression on my face.
♫ Listen at YouTube
(Jackie DeShannon)
UK
Influential version
#3 UK #35 USA | #3 Sydney #7 Melbourne #2 Brisbane #14 Adelaide #1 Perth | #2 Australia
Single on Pye by major Merseybeat band from Liverpool.
The Searchers specialised in brilliant rearrangements of American originals to suit the sounds of the British beat boom. Five of their six Top 5 UK hits 1963-65 were all examples of this:
• Sweets For My Sweet (1963, #1 UK): from The Drifters’ 1961 original (wr. Doc Pomus – Mort
Shuman)
• Needles And Pins (1964, #1): Jackie DeShannon 1963 (Jack Nitzsche – Sonny Bono)
• Don’t Throw Your Love Away (1964, #1): The Orlons 1963 (Billy Jackson – Jim Wisner)
• When You Walk In The Room (1964, #3): Jackie DeShannon 1963 (Jackie DeShannon)
• Goodbye My Love (1965, #4): Robert Mosley (Robert Mosley – Leroy Swearingen – Lamar
Simington, as Goodbye My Lover Goodbye)
The exception was Sugar And Spice (1963, #2) an original written by Tony Hatch as Fred Nightingale.
Source: Covers by The Searchers listed and explored by Arnold Rypens at The Originals.
Further reading: 1. The Searchers at British Beat Boom [archived]. 2. Biography and commentary by Bruce Eder at All Music.
(Jackie DeShannon - Claude François)
France
B-side on Philips with a full-bodied pop arrangement played by the orchestra of Christian Chevallier.
French lyrics are by the artist, multi-skilled French entertainer Claude François (1939-1978). He co-wrote and first recorded Comme d’Habitude, the song made famous by Frank Sinatra as My Way.
Les Cloches Sonnaient = the bells were ringing.
♫ Listen at YouTube
See also: Claude François – Hey Potatoes (Mashed Potatoes) (1962) the song recorded by Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs as Mashed Potato (1964).
(Jackie DeShannon)
USA
Original version
#99 USA | #8 Adelaide | #84 Australia
Single on Liberty November 1963, charted USA January 1964. Both sides of the 45 were written by DeShannon, produced by Dick Glasser and arranged by Jack Nitzsche. See also the B-side Till You Say You’ll Be Mine at this site (recorded by Olivia Newton-John).
After charting in Adelaide in May 1964, When You Walk In The Room recharted there in October, peaking at #14. Not only is this an outlier amongst Australian charts, but the record was apparently more popular in Adelaide than in the US. Remarkable, huh?
This is a much-recorded song: see, for example, the list of over 60 versions at Covers.info, including several adaptations in languages other than English, or the condensed list at The Originals.
Singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon (b.1941, Sharon Lee
Myers) may be best known to many for her own hits:
• What The World Needs Now Is Love (Burt Bacharach-Hal David)
Jackie DeShannon 1965, #7 USA.
• Put A Little Love In Your Heart (DeShannon-Randy Myers-Jimmy Holiday)
Jackie DeShannon 1969, #4 USA. Co-writer Randy Myers
is Jackie’s brother.
She also recorded the original version of:
• Needles And Pins (Sonny Bono-Jack Nitzche):
Jackie DeShannon 1963, #83 USA
Better known by The Searchers 1964 (#1 UK, #13 USA).
Some of her own compositions – often in collaboration with Sharon Sheeley – have been
known through other artists’ recordings:
• Dum Dum (DeShannon-Sheeley):
Brenda Lee 1961, #4 USA, #22 UK.
• (He’s) The Great Imposter (DeShannon-Sheeley):
The Fleetwoods 1961, #30 USA.
• When You Walk In The Room (DeShannon-Sheeley):
The Searchers 1964, #3 UK, #35 USA.
• Don’t Doubt Yourself, Babe (DeShannon):
The Byrds 1965, on album Mr Tambourine Man.
• Come And Stay With Me (DeShannon):
Marianne Faithful 1965, #4 UK, #26 USA.
• Bette Davis Eyes (Donna Weiss- DeShannon):
Kim Carnes 1981, #1 USA.
First released by Jackie DeShannon, 1974, on album New Arrangement.
• Breakaway (DeShannon-Sheeley):
Tracey Ullman 1983, #4 UK.
First released by Irma Thomas, 1964, as Break-A-Way.
Further reading: 1. Jackie DeShannon’s website. 2. Jackie DeShannon Appreciation Society. 3. All Music biography by Steve Leggett.
(Jackie DeShannon)
USA
Later version
#101 USA
From the album Restless Nights September 1979, single on Columbia November 1979 by American singer-songwriter-guitarist-pianist. Her compositions have been recorded by some major names including Linda Ronstadt who included three Karla Bonoff songs on her album Hasten Down the Wind (1976).
♫ Listen at YouTube
Single on Chrysalis by British singer-songwriter-guitarist-keyboardist known for his vital membership of such notable bands as Ace, Squeeze, and Mike + The Mechanics as well his work as a solo artist and session musician.
♫ Listen at YouTube
Further reading: Paul Carrick biography by Mark Deming at All Music.
(Jackie DeShannon)
Netherlands
Later version
#32 Netherlands
CD single on Columbia by Dutch pop-rock singers. Before embarking on successful solo careers, each had been in prominent Dutch rock bands, Piet Veerman (b. 1943) in The Cats and Anny Schilder (b. 1959) in BZN.
Pop Archives
Australia's premier song history site since 2004
Website by Lyn Nuttall. © Lyn Nuttall 2004-2024. Chart positions courtesy of Gavin Ryan’s Australian Chart Books and Dean Scapolo’s Complete NZ Music Charts. Special thanks to Terry Stacey for information, corrections and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Watson, Philippe Edouard, Dave Overett.., More…