Sharon Sheeley
Encyclopedia
Sharon Sheeley was an American songwriter
, born in California
, who wrote songs for Glen Campbell
, Ricky Nelson
, Brenda Lee
, and Sheeley's former fiancé, Eddie Cochran
.
in Newport Beach
, California, and briefly worked as a teen model. She went to Hollywood to meet the stars and, after a brief relationship with Don Everly, wrote her first song, the autobiographical "Poor Little Fool
". Reportedly, she told Ricky Nelson that her godfather had written the song for Elvis Presley
; Nelson then recorded it, and in 1958 it became his first US Number 1. At age 18, she was the youngest woman to write an American number-one hit. It was also the first number-one song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100
list.
Jerry Capehart
, the manager and songwriting partner of Eddie Cochran
, then agreed to look after Sheeley's interests, and she and Cochran began a relationship. She wrote "Love Again
" and "Cherished Memories" for Cochran, and the 1959 hit "Somethin' Else" with Eddie's brother Bob Cochran. Her other songwriting credits included "Hurry Up", recorded by Ritchie Valens
.
In April 1960, she traveled to England to join Cochran and Gene Vincent
, who were touring there. She and Cochran were reported as being "unofficially engaged". She also recorded a song, "Homework", with producer Jack Good
. On the night of April 16, 1960, Sheeley, Vincent and Cochran were traveling in a private hire taxi from a concert in Bristol
to London airport
when it blew a tire and slammed into a lamp post near Chippenham
, Wiltshire
. All three were rushed to hospital. Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered fatal brain injuries and died the next day, at the age of 21. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis and Vincent broke his ribs and collarbone, and added further damage to his already weak leg.
Following the accident she returned to the United States, where she collaborated with musician/songwriter, Jackie DeShannon
on a string of hits, including Brenda Lee
's "Dum Dum" and "Heart In Hand," and Irma Thomas
's "Breakaway". She also co-wrote songs with Chris Curtis
of The Searchers
, including "Night Time" recorded by Paul
and Barry Ryan
.
In 1961 she married Los Angeles disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill. They divorced five years later but remained friends. After her divorce, she moved away from the music scene, apart from some public appearances at Cochran conventions in the 1990s. In August 2000, RPM Records released a collection of her songs that were recorded in the early 1960s by a group of session musician
s, that included then unknown Glen Campbell
, Delaney Bramlett
, Leon Russell
, David Gates
, Hal Blaine
and Herb Alpert
.
Five days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, she died on May 17, 2002 at Sherman Oaks Hospital
Medical Center in Los Angeles
, at the age of 62.
promoted their Levis 501 range with the story of how Sheeley attracted Cochran at a party by wearing said product. It was seemingly narrated by Sheeley and the background song, "C'mon Everybody
", was released as a promotional single, followed by a compilation album
of Cochran's hits.
Sheeley was depicted by Rosanna Locke in the 1987 film
La Bamba
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, born in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, who wrote songs for Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
, Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
, and Sheeley's former fiancé, Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
.
Life
Sheeley attended Newport Harbor High SchoolNewport Harbor High School
Newport Harbor High School is a public high school in Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.-History:...
in Newport Beach
Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach, incorporated in 1906, is a city in Orange County, California, south of downtown Santa Ana. The population was 85,186 at the 2010 census.The city's median family income and property values consistently place high in national rankings...
, California, and briefly worked as a teen model. She went to Hollywood to meet the stars and, after a brief relationship with Don Everly, wrote her first song, the autobiographical "Poor Little Fool
Poor Little Fool
"Poor Little Fool" is a pop/rock song written by Sharon Sheeley. It was based on her disappointment following a short-lived relationship with a member of a popular singing duo. The best-known version of the song was recorded by Ricky Nelson on April 17, 1958 and released on Imperial Records 5528...
". Reportedly, she told Ricky Nelson that her godfather had written the song for Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
; Nelson then recorded it, and in 1958 it became his first US Number 1. At age 18, she was the youngest woman to write an American number-one hit. It was also the first number-one song to appear on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
list.
Jerry Capehart
Jerry Capehart
Jerry Capehart was a songwriter and music manager. Capehart co-wrote the famous rock 'n' roll songs "Summertime Blues" and "C'mon Everybody" with Eddie Cochran, whom he also managed. He died in Nashville, Tennessee....
, the manager and songwriting partner of Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran
Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
, then agreed to look after Sheeley's interests, and she and Cochran began a relationship. She wrote "Love Again
Love Again (Sharon Sheeley song)
"Love Again" is a song by Sharon Sheeley, released by Eddie Cochran in 1958 as single B-side.-External links:*...
" and "Cherished Memories" for Cochran, and the 1959 hit "Somethin' Else" with Eddie's brother Bob Cochran. Her other songwriting credits included "Hurry Up", recorded by Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens
Ritchie Valens was a Mexican-American singer, songwriter and guitarist....
.
In April 1960, she traveled to England to join Cochran and Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, who were touring there. She and Cochran were reported as being "unofficially engaged". She also recorded a song, "Homework", with producer Jack Good
Jack Good (producer)
Jack Good is a pioneering former TV television producer, musical theatre producer, record producer, musician and painter of icons.-Career:...
. On the night of April 16, 1960, Sheeley, Vincent and Cochran were traveling in a private hire taxi from a concert in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to London airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
when it blew a tire and slammed into a lamp post near Chippenham
Chippenham
Chippenham may be:* Chippenham, Wiltshire* Chippenham * Chippenham, Cambridgeshire-See also:* Virginia State Route 150, also known as Chippenham Parkway, USA* Cippenham, Berkshire, UK...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. All three were rushed to hospital. Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered fatal brain injuries and died the next day, at the age of 21. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis and Vincent broke his ribs and collarbone, and added further damage to his already weak leg.
Following the accident she returned to the United States, where she collaborated with musician/songwriter, Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock 'n' roll period.- Life and early career :...
on a string of hits, including Brenda Lee
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley , known as Brenda Lee, is an American performer who sang rockabilly, pop and country music, and had 37 US chart hits during the 1960s, a number surpassed only by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Ray Charles and Connie Francis...
's "Dum Dum" and "Heart In Hand," and Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas is an American Grammy Award-winning soul and rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans"....
's "Breakaway". She also co-wrote songs with Chris Curtis
Chris Curtis
Chris Curtis was an English drummer and singer with the 1960s pop band, The Searchers. He originated the concept behind Deep Purple and formed the band in its original incarnation of 'Roundabout'.-Early years:...
of The Searchers
The Searchers (band)
The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
, including "Night Time" recorded by Paul
Paul Ryan (singer)
Paul Ryan was an English singer, songwriter and record producer.Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Paul and his twin brother Barry were the sons of singer Marion Ryan, and had some success as a singing duo during the 1960s, known simply as "Paul & Barry Ryan"...
and Barry Ryan
Barry Ryan (singer)
Barry Ryan was an English pop singer. He is currently a photographer.The son of pop singer Marion Ryan, Ryan and his twin brother Paul began to perform at the age of 16...
.
In 1961 she married Los Angeles disc jockey Jimmy O'Neill. They divorced five years later but remained friends. After her divorce, she moved away from the music scene, apart from some public appearances at Cochran conventions in the 1990s. In August 2000, RPM Records released a collection of her songs that were recorded in the early 1960s by a group of session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s, that included then unknown Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell
Glen Travis Campbell is an American country music singer, guitarist, television host and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for hosting a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television.During his 50 years in show...
, Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed Delaney...
, Leon Russell
Leon Russell
Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....
, David Gates
David Gates
David Gates is an American singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the group Bread, which reached the tops of the musical charts in Europe and North America on several occasions in the 1970s. The band was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame...
, Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine
Hal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
and Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
.
Five days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, she died on May 17, 2002 at Sherman Oaks Hospital
Sherman Oaks Hospital
Sherman Oaks Hospital is an 153 bed acute care facility on Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, California. It is home of the Grossman Burn Center. SOH is owned and operated by Prime Healthcare Services, a hospital management company located in Victorville, California...
Medical Center in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, at the age of 62.
Media
In 1988, Levi Strauss & Co.Levi Strauss & Co.
Levi Strauss & Co. is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans. It was founded in 1853 when Levi Strauss came from Buttenheim, Franconia, to San Francisco, California to open a west coast branch of his brothers' New York dry goods business...
promoted their Levis 501 range with the story of how Sheeley attracted Cochran at a party by wearing said product. It was seemingly narrated by Sheeley and the background song, "C'mon Everybody
C'mon Everybody
"C'mon Everybody" is a 1958 song by Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart, originally released as a B-side. In 1959 it peaked in the UK at No. 6 in the singles chart, and, thirty years later, in 1988, the track was re-issued there and became a No. 14 hit. In the United States the song got to No. 35 on...
", was released as a promotional single, followed by a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of Cochran's hits.
Sheeley was depicted by Rosanna Locke in the 1987 film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
La Bamba
La Bamba (film)
La Bamba is a 1987 American biographical film written and directed by Luis Valdez. The picture features Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck, and Joe Pantoliano...
.
External links
- [ Sharon Sheeley at Allmusic.com]
- http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/sharonsheeley.txt
- Sharon Sheeley & Eddie Cochran - a star-crossed tragic love...