"Shannon" is a 1976 song by

Henry Gross Henry Gross (born April 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his association with the group Sha Na Na and for his hit record, hit song, "Shannon (song), Shannon". Gross is considered a one-hit wonder artist; none of his ot ...

. It became an international hit, reaching #6 and achieving gold record status in the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #5 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. The song reached #1 in Canada and New Zealand. "Shannon" was written about the death of a pet dog that belonged to

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

member

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian Wilson, Brian and Dennis Wilson, ...

. While touring with the Beach Boys in 1975, Gross visited Wilson's home in Los Angeles and in conversation said he had an

Irish Setter The Irish Setter (, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog originating in Ireland. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well a ...

named Shannon. Wilson replied that he, too, had an Irish Setter named Shannon, that had recently been killed when hit by a car. The single went

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the U.S. and became a worldwide hit, reaching #6 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #5 on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 in 1976. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

it reached #1. "Shannon" also reached #1 in New Zealand, but peaked only at #32 in the UK.

Musicians

* Henry Gross: vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals *

Allan Schwartzberg Allan Schwartzberg (born December 28, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. He has been a member of the rock band Mountain, Peter Gabriel's first solo band, toured with Brecker Brothers' Dreams, B. J. Thomas, Linda Ronstadt, Stan Ge ...

: drums * George Devens: percussion * Warren Nichols: bass * Philip Aaberg: piano, electric piano * Mike Corbett, Marty Nelson, Tommy West: background vocals

The Casey Kasem incident

"Shannon" is remembered for being the subject of a profanity-laced tirade by ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

'' host

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

, while recording the September 14, 1985 show. A listener from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

had requested "Shannon" as a "Long-Distance Dedication" (a regular feature of the show) to his own recently deceased dog, named Snuggles. Kasem was upset that the show's producers had placed the dedication immediately following

the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American female vocal group from Oakland, California, who achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. They have had a repertoire with many genres, they have sold around 50 million records throughout their ...

' hit " Dare Me", an uptempo song that he considered a poor lead-in to a sad song such as "Shannon". This did not originally air in the broadcast.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* 1976 songs 1976 singles Lifesong Records singles Songs about dogs Songs written by Henry Gross RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand {{1970s-song-stub