Photo: a nameless yeast / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
DeShannon is one of the great underrated figures of 1960s pop, both as a performer and, even more so, as a songwriter at a time when women rarely got to do both. Her version of What the World Needs Now Is Love is gorgeous, but the deeper you dig the more you appreciate her own pen, culminating in co-writing Bette Davis Eyes years later, which is just an immaculate piece of songcraft. She toured with the Beatles, hung around the heart of the LA scene, and quietly influenced people like Sharon Tandy and Marianne Faithfull. The Songwriters Hall of Fame nod was overdue; she's a writer's writer who deserves to be a household name.
Overview
Jackie DeShannon (born 1941) is an American singer-songwriter from Kentucky, regarded as one of the first female singer-songwriters to achieve mainstream success in the rock and pop era. She is best known for her hit recordings of What the World Needs Now Is Love and Put a Little Love in Your Heart, and as a songwriter she co-wrote Bette Davis Eyes, later a major hit for Kim Carnes. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in recognition of her writing career.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jackie DeShannon
- Name (Japanese)
- ジャッキー・デシャノン
- Reading
- じゃっきー・でしゃのん
- Born
- August 21, 1941 (age 84)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Snake
- Origin
- Kentucky, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Singer-songwriter / Singer / Composer / Recording artist / Musician
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Singer-songwriter — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.