"Stranger in Town" is a 1965 song by

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". In 1999, he was indu ...

. Written by Shannon, it is the opening track on

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 DJ copy of Kinetic Energy 1969 Amy 45 Amy Records was a record label formed in 1960 as ...

. 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) "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)" is a song written by the American rock-and-roll musician Del Shannon. It was written, recorded, and released in 1964.Young, Brian. "Del Shannon Biography." ''DelShannon.com.'' Web. 31 Jul 2016. Young, Brian ...

", but was not as successful, reaching No. 30 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the USA and No. 40 on the UK's ''

Record Retailer ''Record Retailer'' was the only music trade newspaper for the UK record industry. It was founded in August 1959 as a monthly newspaper covering both labels and dealers. Its founding editor was Roy Parker (who died on 27 December 1964). The titl ...

'' chart.Del Shannon - Full Official Chart History

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

. Accessed July 31, 2016. "Stranger in Town" was Shannon's last top 40 hit of the 1960s. 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, ahead of Shannon's bigger hits "Keep Searching" (371st in Marsh's book) and "Runaway" (534th). Howard DeWitt's biography of Shannon is titled "Stranger in Town" after the song.

References

{{Del Shannon Songs written by Del Shannon Del Shannon songs 1965 songs 1965 singles