Shannon - Henry Gross

Henry Gross was born on April 1, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York. Encouraged by his mother, he moved into music at a young age, starting to perform in local clubs when he was only 14 years old. While at college, he was a founder member of the band Sha Na Na, which he left in 1970 to pursue a solo career.

In 1976, he recorded what was to become his signature song, 'Shannon'. The lyric was about the death of Beach Boy Carl Wilson's Irish Setter of the same name. The single reached number 6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 25 in the Dutch Top 40 and number 32 in the UK singles chart. The song was picked as a favourite by Kim Wilde during her radio show 'Secret Songs' on Magic FM last year, which is how I first heard it. I'm glad to have located a copy, as the song grabbed me right away.

My collection: 7" single no. 4500
Found: Record fair, Amsterdam, January 30, 2010
Cost: 1 euro
Tracks: 'Shannon' / 'Pokey'