Jackie DeShannon Hits Revisited

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," with words and music by the singer, and "Needles and Pins" represent the early 1960s Jackie. Her long tenure with Liberty/Imperial Records was best expressed by her work with eclectic arranger-composer Nitzsche, a close friend and artistic collaborator. U.K. Mersey Beat band the Searchers hung their star over both sides of the pond with covers of the DeShannon tunes that would become rock standards. But on her versions, Jackie reads the lyrics with a wider range of emotions, revealing a deep, evolving artist.

As the '60s evolved, DeShannon grew as a writer and recording artist. She had the good fortune to join the Beatles in 1964 as an opening act on their first U.S. tour, 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, and subsequently wrote one of British songbird Marianne Faithfull's signature songs, "Come and Stay With Me." Back home, Jackie was a frequent presence on hip television music shows such as Shindig! and sang with Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell and the Everly Brothers.

DeShannon achieved a top ten hit in 1965 with her exquisitely soulful rendition of Bacharach and 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," which Ray Charles' Raelettes issued in 1970. As that decade progressed, DeShannon wrote with Van Morrison and John Bettis, among others.

Her writing work with Donna Weiss took DeShannon into the '80s: their "Bette Davis Eyes" broke Kim Carnes as a major artist of that decade. The song was one of the U.S.'s first "new wave" hits, and earned Jackie the 1982 Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

On When You Walk in the Room, DeShannon revisits these tunes in a timeless context. The songs themselves are the stars of the album.