''Del Shannon Sings Hank Williams'' is the fifth studio album by American rock and roll singer-songwriter

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit " Runaway", which was covered la ...

. released in February 1965 by

Amy Records DJ copy of Kinetic Energy 1969 Amy 45 Amy Records was a record label formed in 1960 as a subsidiary of Bell Records. Artists who had success on Amy included Al Brown's Tunetoppers with "The Madison" (Amy 804 charted #23), a dance tune in 1960, J ...

. It is a

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

to the songs of

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

singer

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

, whom Shannon listed among his influences. At some point in late 1964, Shannon had decided to record a tribute album to Hank Williams. As Harry Balk recalled, "I didn't really have much faith in the country stuff, but Del really wanted to do it." Les Cooley was the engineer there that we used. Bill Ramal wasn't used to arrange, Del worked up the arrangements himself with The Royaltones." The album was released on compact disc by Beat Goes On on September 16, 1998, as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 13 through 24 consisting of Shannon's Final Amy album from April 1965,

1,661 Seconds with Del Shannon ''1,661 Seconds with Del Shannon'' is the sixth studio album by American rock and roll singer-songwriter Del Shannon, released in April 1965 by Amy Records. His final album for the label, it features the singles "Do You Want to Dance", "Keep Sear ...

Bear Family Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...

included also the album in the 2004 Home and Away box set.

Edsel Records Demon Music Group Limited (DMG; formerly Object Enterprises Limited from 19821991 and Music Collection International Limited from 19912000) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-iss ...

included the album in the 2023 ''Stranger in Town: A Del Shannon Compendium'' box set.

Critical reception

Cub Koda of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a strong review and said, "While tribute albums nowadays are commonplace, it was usually a tip of the hat to some long-standing show-business icon like

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

. Certainly departed country music stars like Hank Williams were considered outside the pale of such honors." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' selected the album for a "Country Spotlight" review, and stated that "This is a complete change of pace for Del, effectively translating the great tunes made famous" ''Cashbox'' praises "Shannon’s country style stands out on 'Honky Tonk Blues', 'Your Cheatin’ Heart', and 'Cold, Cold Heart'.' ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' believed "He'll broaden his market considerably with this heartfelt tribute to the late country tunesmith." ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' called it "Strict Country Fashion" and stated that the "best tracks are the atmospheric 'Kaw-Liga' and the light-hearted 'Hey Good Lookin'.

Critical reception

Track listing

Side one

Side two

References