Stranger in Town (Del Shannon song)

"Stranger in Town" is a 1965 song by Del Shannon. Written by Shannon, it is the opening track on the album 1,661 Seconds with Del Shannon.[1] It was released as a single, a follow-up (both chronologically and thematically) to Shannon's top-ten hit "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)",[2] but was not as successful, reaching No. 4 in Canada, No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA, and No. 40 on the UK's Record Retailer chart.[3][4][2][5] "Stranger in Town" was Shannon's last top 40 hit in the US of the 1960s.[2]

> "Stranger in Town"... it's one long bleat of terror, the singer and his lover pursued by some unnameable person for reasons just beyond the fringe of rational understanding.

— Dave Marsh, The Heart of Rock & Soul[4]

Dave Marsh, in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, ranked "Stranger in Town"' as the 327th best rock or soul single to that date,[4] ahead of Shannon's bigger hits "Keep Searching" (371st in Marsh's book)[6] and "Runaway" (534th).[7]

Howard DeWitt's biography of Shannon is titled "Stranger in Town" after the song.[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Elder, Bruce. One Thousand Six-Hundred Sixty-One Seconds of Del Shannon at AllMusic. Retrieved April 2015.
2. ^ a b c Unterberger, RIchie. Stranger in Town at AllMusic. Retrieved April 2015.
3. ^ "RPM Top 40&5 - March 29, 1965" (PDF).
4. ^ a b c Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul. Plume. p. 229\. ISBN 978-0452263055. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
5. ^ Del Shannon - Full Official Chart History, Official Charts Company. Accessed July 31, 2016.
6. ^ Marsh 1989, p. 255.
7. ^ Marsh 1989, p. 353.
8. ^ DeWitt, Howard; DeWitt, Dennis (2001). Stranger in Town: The Musical Life of Del Shannon. Kendall Hunt. ISBN 978-0787288549.

* v
* t
* e

Del Shannon

Studio albums|

* Runaway with Del Shannon
* Hats Off to Del Shannon
* Little Town Flirt
* Handy Man
* Del Shannon Sings Hank Williams
* 1,661 Seconds with Del Shannon
* This Is My Bag
* Total Commitment
* The Further Adventures of Charles Westover
* Drop Down and Get Me
* Rock On!
* Home and Away
* The Dublin Sessions

Live albums|

* Live in England

Songs|

* "Runaway"
* "Hats Off to Larry"
* "The Swiss Maid"
* "Little Town Flirt"
* "Two Kinds of Teardrops"
* "From Me to You"
* "Handy Man"
* "Do You Want to Dance"
* "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)"
* "Stranger in Town
* "Sea of Love"

Related articles|

* Discography

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