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Our Top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs takes a look at one of the great singer songwriters to come out of the early 1960s who has success as both a writer and artist. In similar fashion to artists like Carole King, Randy Newman and others, Jackie DeShannon composed materiel for other artists who had big hits with hers songs while also composing songs that she would record herself. She had a killer voice that was made for hit singles that crossed the genres of pop, rock and a little bit country. Our Top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs list presents 10 Jackie DeShannon recordings that combine some written by herself and some recordings written by other songwriters.
# 10 – Am I Making It Hard On You
We wanted to open up our top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs list with one of her killer vocal performances. The great songs song Am I Making It Hard On You is easily a great one to show off her mesmerizing vocal chops. The song was released on one of our favorite albums of the 1960s entitled This is Jackie DeShannon.
# 9 – She Don’t Understand Him Like I Do
The song was released on the very popular Jackie DeShannon album Breakin’ It Up on the Beatles Tour! The album was released in 1965. Although the album title makes the record appear to be a live album, the record was actually a collection of singles that Jackie DeShannon had released earlier on Liberty Records. Since she had indeed opened for The Beatles on some 19964 shows, her record company took advantage of that fact by naming her album Breakin’ It Up on the Beatles Tour! The song was written by Jackie DeShannon and the great Randy Newman.
# 8 – The Weight
Jackie DeShannon was a double threat as an artist. She could write great original songs and at the same time cover legendary songs in a unique way that made them her own. Jackie DeShannn’s cover of the Band’s classic song The Weight was released in 1968. The song peaked at number fifty five on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time.
# 7 – Just Like In The Movies
Continuing with our top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs list we turn to one of her early 1960s songs entitled “Just Like In The Movies.” The song was released in 1962 as one of great stand alone Liberty Records singles. The song was never released on any of her original studio albums. It did appear on compilations like You Won’t Forget Me: The Complete Liberty Singles Volume 1.
# 6 – A Lifetime Of Loneliness
Jackie DeShannon’s “A Lifetime of Loneliness,” was released on the great 1965 album This Is Jackie DeShannon. The song was written by the 1960s radio dominating team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. What we love about this one the most besides the songs brilliant composition is Jackie DeShannon’s great harmonies that made this one so special.
# 5 – I Can Make It With You
One of our favorite Jackie DeShannon songs has always been “I Can Make It With You.” Just take a listen to her spectacular vocals on this one. It was one of her best vocals performances of her brilliant career. The song was written by Chip Taylor. It was released in 1968 on the Jackie DeShannon album Are You Ready For This.
# 4 – Needles and Pins
Jackie DeShannon’s was the first of many recordings of this very famous 1960s song. “Needles and Pins,” was released in 1963. Jackie DeShannon was the first artist to record the song. Jackie DeShannon claims to have taken part of the songwriting process of the song but was never given songwriting credit. The song is credited to Sonny Bono and Jack Nitzsche. “Needles and Pins,” was released on the album Breakin’ It Up on the Beatles Tour! While the song did not originally chart too high in the U.S. peaking at only number eighty four, it had far more success in Canada where it hit number one in 1963.
# 3 – When You Walk in the Room
While much credit has been given to Jackie DeShannon’s incredible vocals performances, not enough has been written abut her talents as a songwriter. Her skills as a songwriter are on display right here in this amazing track entitled “When You Walk In The Room.” It was never a big hit for Jackie DeShannon, but the song would be covered by many other artists over the years. The most successful version was recorded by the Searchers who had a top 40 hit with the song in the United States and a top 3 hit with it in the United Kingdom. Bruce Springsteen often performed the song on his 1975 tour.
# 2 – Put a Little Love in Your Heart
As we close in on the number one spot on our top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs list we turn to the singer’s biggest hit of her career. The classic song “Put A Little Love In Your Heart,” was released in 1969. The song went all the way up to the number four spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Jackie DeShannon, Randy Myers and Jimmy Holiday. This great song would be covered by many artists as the song’s universal theme was very similar to her huge hit “What The World Need No Is Love, a song that seemed to clearly to serve as an inspiration for this one.
# 1 – What the World Needs Now Is Love
We close out our top 10 Jackie DeShannon songs list with the singer’s second highest charting single of her career. While Burt Bacharach’s magnificent song “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” has been recorded by many artists, it was Jackie DeShannon’s recording that became the definite version of the song. The song was released in 1965 on Jackie DeShannon’s album entitled This Is Jackie DeShannnon.
The song was a huge hit for Jackie DeShannon and Burt Bacharach and Hal David. “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hit 100 in 1965 peaking at number seven. The song also hit number one on the Canadian music charts. Over time, the song has become a standard for peace in a world of unrest and war. It feels just as important in 2020 as it did in 1965.
