DEL SHANNON ROCK ON is the story of one of the early

60`s rockers who had his roots in Country Music and 50`s rock.

 His first and biggest hit was Runaway, a world wide smash .

Charles Westover  was born Dec. 30, 1934

and raised in Coopersville, Michigan.

He learned to play a guitar that cost $5.00 and had to be held together with wire.

Eventually Westover joined the Army and won a guitar talent contest.

Following his discharge he played local gigs singing and playing the music

of his idol Hank Williams along with the new rock n roll songs.

 While at the Hi-Lo Club in Battle Creek, Michigan

he teamed up with Max Crook,

a piano player who also had an electronic keyboard called a Musitron.

 It was during this time that Charles Westover became Del Shannon,

a name picked up from a guy named Mark Shannon

who wanted to become a wrestler.

Mark sounded too much like a private eye

so he choose Del, a contraction of Cadillac Coupe DeVille.

Runaway