“With hindsight and the gradual reissue of her catalogue, it seems clearer that Jackie DeShannon was among the preeminent American singer-songwriters of the ‘60s, comparable in some ways to the greatest British singer of the period, Dusty Springfield.” –Tom Useted, Pop Matters
Jackie DeShannon was born today in 1944. How many of you loved her hit song, “What the World Needs Now?” This beautiful song, still relevant in 2013, was written by that magnificent songwriting team of Hal David (May He Rest in Peace) and Burt Bacharach, (still going strong)! Jackie DeShannon is a songwriter, too, and had a hit with her own composition (along with her brother Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday), “Put a Little Love In Your Heart,” which is also a beautiful song and again, still relevant. “Subsequent writing partners include Van Morrison, John Bettis and Donna Weiss, with whom Jackie earned a 1982 Grammy for Song of the Year with “Bette Davis Eyes.” In 2010, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame. Jackie’s latest album offers acoustic arrangements of her classic songs.” –jackiedeshannon.com
Jackie DeShannon continues to record songs that urge the world to be a better place and take care of its citizens, such as “For Africa, For Africa:”
“We’ve got to dig a well of clean water
All for our sisters and brothers
We’ve got to dig a well of clean water
To save our sons and save our daughters
For Africa, In Africa For Africa, In Africa”
